


Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create It

by cyxnidelxced



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Canon-Typical Violence, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) - Freeform, Eventual Romance, Fox Summons, Friendship, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Good Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Humor, M/M, Protective Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Some angst, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27534262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyxnidelxced/pseuds/cyxnidelxced
Summary: The Fourth Shinobi War was over. Madara is dead. Kaguya is tightly sealed. They have won the war, but at a heavy price. Naruto is left alone on a barren wasteland. Everyone was gone in their efforts in the battlefield. Alone in his grief, the Rokudaime Hokage traveled around the Elemental Nations only to end up in the ruins of Uzushiogakure. There he found an answer that might work for him. With the help of his trusted friend and partner, Naruto and the Kyuubi no Kitsune traveled back in time to where it all began. This time he will be able to protect his precious people. He will never give up or go back on his word for that has always been his nindo, his ninja way. Well, this will certainly be an interesting ride.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 111
Kudos: 666





	1. Prologue: The End of the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> In the beginning of this fic, Naruto is the Rokudaime Hokage. Tsunade gave him the hat a few months into the war despite being young. Obito does not exist in the previous timeline. I absolutely adore Obito and I hated the fact that he became so dark due to Madara's manipulations, so in my story, "Tobi" is actually Uchiha Madara. In the beginning of the war, Naruto is 16/17 as it is in canon and the war lasted about 4 years.
> 
> A lot of things will be changed when Naruto travels back in time, but I'll try to leave some things the same during the original canon. However, I may do things that I may see fit as this is my story. Sorry if it might not be to your liking.

The war was finally over.

Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, 20 year old Rokudaime Hokage, stared blankly at the darkened and smoke-filled sky from where he lay on the uneven, desolate battlefield. He turned his head to the right to see the mangled remains of Uchiha Madara, his long-time enemy for four hellish years. Four years of war filled with so much blood and pain all because of a madman who wanted to take over the world using the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He turned his eyes to observe his surroundings. 

All he could see was emptiness. A long time ago, the field he was now laying in was once filled with grass, plants, and animals. Now all that is left are puddles of blood, the crumbling and dry ground, and corpses of a few trees. There was no life around and when he spread his senses miles wide, not a single chakra signature flickers. The world was dead. This was all thanks to the now dead Uchiha laying a few feet away from him.

Naruto let out a shuddering breath. His eyes were dried of tears a long time ago when he grieved for his precious people. His allies, comrades, friends, and family in all but blood. They were gone from the world, never to be seen again. His once proud village of Konohagakure was now just ruins and crumbling structures. He thought back to the ones he loved and cared for the most.

Haruno Sakura, his best friend and teammate as well as the best damn medic-nin the allied shinobi forces had ever seen. She was gone a few months ago when she was swarmed, ambushed, and blindsided by Zetsu clones as she tried healing a group of critically injured shinobi and kunoichi. He found her among the pile of bodies, her arms severed and her lifeless eyes stared blankly to her left as she was lying face down. Her body had already gone so cold.

Uchiha Sasuke, his childhood rival and a reformed traitor. He joined their side after Naruto finally knocked some sense into him. He slowly became Naruto's close friend up until the bitter end. He passed away when he took a fatal blow, his head severed from his body and his eyes then were gouged out by the enemy forces.

Sai, the ex-Root member and emotionally stunted bastard with no social cues, but slowly warming up to emotions had gone down with Yamato-taichou while defending one of the camps.

Gaara, the Kazekage and his brother in all but blood who had shared the same fate he did and understood him about being a jinchuuriki. He had gone down with his siblings in the war effort as he met up with the other kages.

Tsunade-baa-chan, his surrogate grandmother/sister figure. Her lifeforce was drained, using what was left of her chakra to heal and revive the surviving allied forces.

Kakashi, his sensei, friend, and confidante. His death was what broke him the most. He died protecting him. Madara snuck up on him when he was busy fighting off the Zetsu clones. He was readying to puncture out his heart when Kakashi took the fatal blow for him. Before Naruto could do anything, the madman slipped away and he was left to hold onto the cooling body of his sensei with a hole in his chest. Naruto cried, begging him to hold on until someone came by to help. Kakashi only smiled with blood dripping from his lips. His mask was tattered to shreds around his neck. With his dying breath, he told him how proud he was of the young blonde, wishing it didn't have to end this way. With what was left of his chakra, Kakashi lifted his head up to capture the Kyuubi jinchuuriki in a kiss. He pulled away and whispered how much he regretted now that he was dying he didn't get to tell him that he loved him with all his being. That Naruto was his light and sunshine. Maybe if they both had lived to see the war ending in their favor or there was no war to begin with, they could have been together. With that said, Kakashi closed his eyes and chest stilled.

Naruto snapped at that moment. He screamed and screamed, unconsciously pulling out Kurama's chakra. The red and malicious chakra snapped around his body in destructive waves. The Kyuubi felt his kit's despair and pain, pulled him into their mindscape and held him as his body trembled. The nine-tailed kitsune tried calming his host, his nonexistent heart breaking, hearing the blonde's screams, knowing fully well why he was acting like this. The blonde had been in love with the silver-haired shinobi since he came back from his training trip with the late toad sage, but didn't say anything, fearing the copy-nin won't reciprocate his feelings or reject him. However, that didn't stop him from falling deeper in love with his sensei and even though he won't say a word, he settled for being close to him as possible only as a student and friend.

Now that the blonde knew that the silver-haired nin had been in love with him too, it was already too late. Madara took Kakashi away from him. The metaphorical hole in his heart widened, and there was nothing that could help repair that.

After that incident, Naruto was determined more than ever to end the last Uchiha if it was the last thing he did.

And he did end his life, but there was nothing left for him now. Everyone was gone, and he was the only one left.

\---

"Kit."

Naruto snapped out of his musings when he heard the deep voice of his lifetime companion. He closed his eyes and drifted towards his mindscape. A place that was once a sewer was now a green forest that surrounds a field with a lake in the middle. A large cave was settled in the corner next to a waterfall with a few flowers here and there among the green grass. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue with the wind blowing in the breeze. Naruto now stood before the great Kyuubi no Kitsune. The large fox watched his host with crimson-slitted orbs, and his orange red fur ruffled with the wind in their shared mindscape. His large nine tails swished lazily behind him.

Soon after the war started, Naruto met up with the fox in his mindscape. He wanted to talk to him on civil, friendly terms, hopefully offering a truce and friendship. At first, it had been rocky as the large vulpine was skeptical, hate-filled, and not at all trusting. But soon, their relationship smoothed out as Naruto refused to give up. The great Kyuubi soon had grown fond of the blonde gaki and respected him when his host claimed that he would take and remove his hate and only use his power with his permission or as a last resort. He wanted to work with the large fox and not control him as he knew what it was like to be lonely in solitude, and they were both in situations where they had no say in the matter when they were bound together since Naruto's birth. Kurama soon saw the blonde as a trusted friend, partner, and even son and told him that he can use his chakra freely and that he would help him along the way. Naruto was very grateful. He smiled a large foxy grin and removed the seal on the large gate, changing his mindscape that would suit the fox's comfort. The seal on the large prison changed to a collar around the fox's neck with the kanji for 'seal' on it, so that he can roam freely around the field, lake, and the surrounding forest of their shared mindscape.

"What is it, Kurama?" Naruto asked the nine-tailed bijuu tiredly. 

Kurama contemplated him a bit longer. "What are you going to do now that you have succeeded?" He asked.

Naruto sighed wearily and rubbed a palm down face, moving to sit down in front of his friend. "I don't know."

He made a face. "There's nothing left in this world. It's just you and me now. I mean I could find a way to get you out the seal if you like."

The fox hummed and shook his head. "And roam a desolate wasteland of nothing? I think not, kit. Besides, it does not matter. I rather not leave you alone, and the seal here is good enough for me to rest in."

Naruto smiled at him, grateful that the large bijuu would rather stay with him than be free out in the world, albeit a dead one.

Kurama tilted his head, thoughtful. He continued to observe his kit. He could see the bags under his human's eyes that are filled with grief and sorrow. He knew the blonde would not recover from this. Not when he is utterly alone in the world. Of course he has him, but the fox had a feeling he would not be enough. He cursed the twice damned Uchiha for doing this to his kit. He wished there was something he could do to make things right.

At that moment, he remembered something his old man once spoke about and thought of. Yes, that might work.

"There is something you could do."

Naruto snapped his head up and looked at the fox curiously. "What is it?"

The fox tilted his head to the other side. "Do you trust me, kit?"

The blonde immediately scowled and jumped up onto his feet. "Of course I do! What kind of question is that!?"

The nine-tails grinned mirthfully, glad that his host hadn't lost some of his fire. "Just making sure."

The sentient chakra stretched out lazily and laid down, placing its muzzle on its paw. The blonde jinchuuriki had a tick mark on his forehead, clearly impatient and wanting the fox to get on with it. "Well?"

Kurama huffed in amusement. "I won't tell you the end of what I want you to do. For now, I want you to travel around the Elemental Nations, picking up scrolls, weapons, money, or anything that could be useful from every village you come across. Just put them in the storage seals you have on your body as you move from one place to another. When you are done, I want you to travel to your mother's home village of Uzushiogakure."

Naruto frowned. "Um, alright. Why though?"

The bijuu rolled his eyes. "You'll see. Just do it. It's all part of the plan."

The blonde then rolled his own eyes and nodded, waving goodbye as he left their shared mindscape.

The fox turned its head towards the sun that shines down on him. Its rays reached him despite not being real. "I'm doing this for you, kit. Hopefully, things will go as planned." He murmured into the breeze.

\---

For the next six months, Naruto traveled from one village to another, packing and retrieving anything he could find of use. He found many scrolls that contain jutsu (forbidden or otherwise), theory, knowledge, and weapons. He found money inside hidden vaults and bunkers as well as non-perishable foods which is actually a godsend as there were no lifeforms to hunt or scavenge (Yes! Instant ramen!). He found files in every village archives with information not accessible to those without clearance. This includes sensitive information, blackmail, layouts, and future planning. In his own village of Konohagakure, he found the secret passageways and underground training areas the Root organization Danzo was in charge of used and found many files lying around in one of the rooms that the one-eyed warhawk seemed to only be able to have access to. Apparently, the stupid mummy was so arrogant that the files only have a simple security seal on it, thinking that he was so cunning he didn't think people would be able to retrieve the information from his dirty hands without suffering in the hands of his emotionless soldiers before they get to it.

Naruto was so disgusted with the information he found that the one-eyed warhawk had and took part in such as sending assassination missions to kill innocent people he deemed useless or a threat, leveling small villages and stealing their valuables, as well as kidnapping and experimenting on children, men, and women both civilian and ninja. The blonde found the documents regarding the Uchiha massacre with the harvesting of the sharingan bloodline, working with Orochimaru, information Danzo had on the civilian council, and the attempt on ending Hokage-jiji's life in order to steal the hat. He claims that he did all this for the sake of the village. The blonde snorted at that. The elder was definitely delusional and had a ton of screws loose in the head from senility.

Sealing the files and documents away in his storage seals with Kurama's insistence (he claims it might be useful for what he has planned), the Kyuubi jinchuuriki continued on his merry way.

After visiting every village and place in the Elemental Nations, the Rokudaime Hokage finally made his way to the land of Whirlpools.

\---

Naruto breathed in the sea salt air as he stood in the middle of the ruins of Uzushio. He felt a sense of calm and familiarity as he stepped into the village his mother had come from. There was a sense of home that came with the place as if the Uzumaki blood in his veins was resonating within him. A small smile curved his lips upwards.

"Okay, Kurama. What do we need to be here for?" The blonde asked the one he hosted.

He felt the fox stir from within his mindscape. "Hmm. From what I remembered when I was sealed inside Uzumaki Mito, there should be a hidden room somewhere on the main island that only those with Uzumaki royal blood can enter. I heard that it was filled with important knowledge and valuables. Try to find it, and we will go from there."

The 20 year old lifted an eyebrow at the task given, but complied. He closed his eyes and tried to see if he could sense the room the fox was talking about. If only Uzumaki royal blood can enter, the place must be sealed with intricate arts of fuuinjutsu. Being a seal master that was going for grand seal mastery before and during the war, he could detect and decipher even the most complicated of seals. He was actually quite proud to be a specialist in the type of shinobi art that his parents and godfather excelled in.

Two miles north from where he stood, Naruto could sense powerful seals contained in one area. The blonde bounded towards it and soon reached a large tower that seemed to house the kage of the village. He entered the building that seemed to be one of the many structures that aren't crumbling or broken beyond repair and as he stepped through the doorway, a vast number of seals lit up on the surface of the walls. The blonde stood in awe as he discern the many matrixes.

He looked around the large building until he came across a set of stairs that led underground. Curious, Naruto stepped down the winding steps to a large room. From the balcony where he stood, he saw that the room was empty saved for a large seal on the ground. He frowned at it, trying to see what it was until he discovered it was a truth seal. From the many symbols and characters that made it up, he could see that it meant for when the seal is activated, the person who stood in the middle of it would tell the truth no matter what and failing to comply would have the one the seal was used on to suffer injuries based on their primary chakra nature. The blonde was impressed by the seal and could tell it is an interrogation technique only used by Uzumakis as it requires high levels of chakra to activate. Any other person outside of the clan would suffer from terrible chakra exhaustion. With more research, he could probably create a seal that had the same result, but would require lower amounts of chakra for people to use.

The nine-tails jinchuuriki turned away to go back up the steps to the upper level when he sensed something in the far left corner of the room. Inquisitive, the blonde jumped down from the balcony and walked towards the corner. When he reached the wall, he put a hand on it and channeled his chakra. A white light flashed, and a seal came up. Naruto studied the seal and figured out that it is one that requires the blood of an Uzumaki. Thinking that it's the room that Kurama was talking about, the blonde kitsune bit his thumb and smeared his blood on the seal then channeled his chakra. The seal flashed again before turning red, and a click was heard. The wall the seal was situated on caved in and moved to the side. A dark tunnel met his azure gaze. Shrugging, the blonde cast a katon to his fingertips to light his way, and he made his way forward.

The dark corridor continued on and after a few minutes of walking, he finally came to a large set of wooden doors. The 20 year old grabbed the handle and pushed his way in. What met his sight made his eyes widen in shock.

In front of him were rows and rows of shelves filled with weapons, scrolls, and books. From what he could see, the weapons were excellently crafted with the whirlpool symbol engraved on it, and the scrolls and books were all on Uzumaki knowledge and shinobi arts. Most of them were on kenjutsu and fuuinjutsu respectively. Beyond the rows of shelves, there is a sitting area in the corner with a door that leads to another room and on the other side is a large training area. The blonde shook his head in amazement and headed towards the door in the corner. Opening it, the blonde fell back on his ass in shock.

The door led to a room filled with piles of gold and ryo as well as delicate and expensive silk. Kami-sama, the amount in there is enough to support all of the hidden villages combined.

"Well, I guess you have found your Uzumaki inheritance. Congratulations, kit." The fox said with humor in his voice from within the blonde's mind, looking through his host's eyes.

Naruto shook his head. "Freaking hell."

He stood back up on his feet and closed the door, wanting to deal with large amounts of whatever that was on a later date when the shock of now being the most wealthiest person to ever walk the Elemental Nations.

"Okay, well, it seems I found the place you're talking about. Now, can you tell me what is going on?" Naruto asked his partner.

He suddenly felt a tug and after a few seconds of disorientation, he found himself to be in front of the great Kyuubi no Kitsune in their shared mindscape. The blonde raised a brow and made himself comfortable on the plush grass.

Kurama sighed. "Well, kit. I wanted to do something for you. The world threw you a lot of shit to deal with and that damn Uchiha didn't make things easier. He took everything from you, and all you have left is an empty world to survive in. I was thinking of ways to help you, and I thought of something that could work."

The blonde listened and by the end of it, he was touched that the fox would try to find a way to help him. "So, what is it that you have thought of?"

Silence rooted around them for a moment before it was broken by the nine-tailed bijuu. "Time travel."

The Rokudaime sputtered. "Time travel!? Is that even possible?"

The ball of fluff huffed in amusement. "Well, your father and the Nidaime Hokage created a time/space seal, and the Uchiha used their sharingan for dimensional traveling. Time travel doesn't seem too far off."

Naruto frowned. "I suppose so. How does this work?"

"When my old man was alive and kicking, he created something that can make time traveling possible. He told me about it one day. It takes out huge amounts of chakra and since you got me, that won't be a problem. It takes you back to a certain point of time you wish, but it must be a time when you existed. Apparently it will take your soul and conscience from your body and transfer it to the younger version of you. Because of the difference of experience, skills, amount of control and chakra, the younger version of you will change to accommodate them. The current you and your past self will merge. The only drawback would be that you are suffering from large amounts of pain and chakra exhaustion when you transfer as if your very own existence is twisting and shredding. Rikudou-jiji said to only use it as a last resort or something that counts as the world ending. Even then, I don't even know if it would work, but I guess it doesn't hurt to try. There is at least an 80% chance of this working." The fox explained.

The blonde jinchuuriki absorbed the words that came out from the large bijuu. Time travel? So if this could work, he could go back and save his precious people and maybe there won't be a war to suffer from? It sounds too good to be true... But he couldn't stop the hope from blooming. He could see everyone again.

Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, Hokage-jiji, Tsunade-baa-chan, Ero-sennin, the Rookie 9 and their sensei, Yamato-taichou, Ayame and Teuchi-jiji, Iruka-sensei, Konohamaru and Konohamaru corps, Gaara, Killer B....

Kakashi.

He could really see everyone again. If this works, he'll try harder and get stronger to better protect them. Hopefully, they'll never see war like the one he had gone through some months ago.

A fire lit in his eyes, determination running through him. "Let's do it. There's nothing to lose if it doesn't work."

Kurama smiled as saw the spark in those cerulean orbs, a light in them that he recognized immediately. "Good. For the next six months, you will be going through what you found throughout the Elemental Nations and learn what you can from what you gathered as well as what is in this room. You'll train and gain as much knowledge as you can. Practice and master the many jutsus, shinobi arts, and weapons you have in your disposal. When all is well and done, we will create that seal that my old man created and use it to travel back." He leaned his head to stare evenly in the blonde's eyes. "Are you up for it?"

Naruto grinned. "I'll do that and more, dattebayo!"

The nine-tailed bijuu answered back with its own foxy grin.

\---

For the next six months, Naruto trained and studied like never before, making use of the scrolls and books he gained as well as the training ground within the large space to his advantage. With the help of his shadow clones and the guidance of the demon fox, the blonde improved himself at an impressive rate. He memorized the many theories, politics, strategical thinking, katas, and information from all aspects of shinobi arts and can do ninjutsu seal-less, without the incantation, or with a few one-handed seals. He even made his own jutsu to expand his arsenal and to keep from having them stolen without his permission, he created a fuuinjutsu seal that can block dojutsu such as the sharingan or byakugan. He finally managed to crack his father's Hiraishin, but he added the theory of A's lightning speed and his own twist, so he can travel anywhere by picturing the place he wanted to go in his mind without using an existing seal. He mastered shurikenjutsu and kenjutsu. His favorite sword was a chakra black-bladed katana with a red guard and a black hilt that had three silver prongs at the end tied with a flowing red ribbon. The sheath was crimson with a black crescent moon, under it was a kanji that says "Benihime". On the blade itself were many seals that help with durability and strength. Naruto put another seal on it so only he can wield it and if it ever gets lost, he can just channel chakra to a similar seal on his hand and it shall appear. His genjutsu that sucked before due to his high reserves and lack of control was now at an acceptable level of B and A-Rank. His taijutsu was a mixture of different fighting styles that had grace, speed, and strength, but had that element of unpredictability he was always known for. He even took up medical ninjutsu in memory of Sakura and Tsunade-baa-chan when his chakra control was up to snuff.

His senjutsu was another thing entirely. He still had sage mode, but he no longer had his toad summons. They fell during the war and as a result, his contract was no longer viable or present. Kurama fixed this by offering his own contract with the kitsunes, both demon and regular. When the large fox presented the contract with a smug expression within their mindscape, Naruto was baffled. He didn't even know there was a contract for kitsunes!

Kurama, still with a smug expression, said that the contract was his own. He was, of course, the boss summon and never found anyone who was worthy of said contract until now. He told the blonde he could learn the kitsune version of sage mode and that the summons are a lot more versatile. The foxes from the Selenelion Forest can shiftshape and use jutsu. They are great in many areas such as tracking, sensing, infiltration, spying, assassination, healing, and sending messages. The kitsune are every sense of the word tricksters, but are extremely loyal to those who gained their trust. Haughtily, the fox stated that kitsunes will always be superior, and he'd be damned if his host would continue to ally with (in his words) bug-eating, slimy, and smelly nuisances.

Rolling his eyes at the fox's description of the toads of Mt. Myoboku, Naruto agreed to sign the contract. Of course, he will forever be grateful to the toads, and it made him feel closer to his dad and Ero-sennin, but he felt more connected to foxes with his prankster nature, loyalty, and of course having a large vulpine sealed within his gut the size of the Hokage Monument. After he signed the contract, he did the necessary hand seals and incantation. When he slammed his palm on the ground, the summoning circle appearing, a large puff of smoke surrounded his being, blocking his sight. Coughing, the blonde waved away the smoke with fuuton and what greeted his eyes was not the underground room in Uzushio, but a large forest.

Naruto could feel the natural chakra in the air and looking around, he could see oddly shaped plants and weird flowers he had never seen before. Instead of the usual green leaves, the trees in the surrounding forest were iridescent and multicolored, almost mimicking a rainbow. He looked up towards the sky, and it was swirls of twilight with specks of stars splattered across it. The sun and moon were oddly enough full and were on opposite sides of the sky.

A rustle caught his attention and looking back down on the ground, an aquamarine fox with three tails the size of a shiba inu and golden slitted eyes watched him.

"Um, hi?" The blonde greeted awkwardly.

The three-tailed kitsune frowned. "How did you get here, human?"

Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I signed the kitsune contract from Kurama. When I did the hand seals and incantation, I guess I had been reverse-summoned."

The golden-eyed fox perked up at that, tails swishing excitedly. "Oh, great Kyuubi-sama let you sign our contract! Wonderful! Come, come! Let's get you to meet everyone!" With that, the smaller fox turned around and bounded away. Naruto stumbled after it.

"Uh, Kurama?" The blonde called to his inner fox demon.

"Just follow her, kit. You'll be fine." The bijuu answered amused.

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki continued to follow the three-tailed fox until they reached a clearing. There, the blonde was overwhelmed by the mass of kitsunes of different colors, sizes, and number of tails. He stood there as he saw them conversing with each other, playing around, napping, or just going about their lives. The aquamarine fox that led him there whistled for their attention. All at once, the kitsunes stopped what they were doing and turned to look their way. They saw the three-tails before turning their eyes toward the 20 year old. A commotion immediately followed.

"What!? A human!"

"How did he get here?"

"Is he our new summoner?"

"Why does he smell like Kyuubi-sama?"

A loud roar quieted the crowd. Soon, a midnight black fox with eight tails and silver slitted eyes stalked forward. His size is a bit smaller than Kurama, but no less intimidating. He stood before the blonde and contemplated him.

"Who are you, young one? How did you come to find the Selenelion Forest?" The massive kitsune asked him.

Naruto swallowed dryly before squaring his shoulders. "I'm the Kyuubi jinchuuriki host. The name's Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. Kurama had me sign the kitsune contract, and I'm hoping to become your summoner."

The black eight-tails tilted head in thought before smiling. "Well, if Kyuubi-sama had you sign our contract, he must trust you to become our summoner which is not an easy feat. We haven't seen a human since the time of the Rikudou Sennin. You would be our first lucky summoner. Welcome to the Selenelion Forest. My name is Mugetsu. I'm the leader in charge when Kyuubi-sama is not present. We actually haven't heard from him for many years, but it seems that he must be sealed within someone for quite some time."

The blonde nodded and explained to him that Kurama has been sealed within Uzumaki Mito first, then his mother before his time to become the host. He even told of how he became the jinchuuriki when he was born. He spoke of his relationship with the bijuu and what life was like until now as well as the plan for time travel.

Mugetsu listened and nodded when he was done. "You had a very difficult life indeed and yet you refuse to give up. I respect that. We will help you, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. You have become our first summoner, and we will be right beside you should you need us. For now, we will teach you our ways and get ourselves acquainted. Don't worry about the time. Three months here is three days out in the mortal plane."

Naruto nodded and smiled, getting started. Within those three months, the 20 year old jinchuuriki met every single kitsune that resides in that forest. He was easily friends with everyone due to his sunny personality, kind nature, and love for pranks. He succeeded in learning their fox style of fighting as well as their own specialized jutsu. Learning their version of sage mode was easier this time around than the time with the toads as he was already used to gathering and balancing natural chakra. He was told that if he absorbed too much, he will turn into an actual kitsune which is somewhat similar yet different from turning into a toad stone. Instead of getting whacked in the head with a staff, Kurama helped and guided him if it comes to that point which is thankfully less painful. When in kitsune sage mode, his pupils become slitted like an actual fox though he kept his azure blue instead of the crimson red when he uses the Kyuubi's chakra. Like the sage version of the toads, there was an orange-red coloring around his eyes, and a translucent shadow of a pair of golden fox ears and tail with a red tip made itself known. When his training was done from his time in the Selenelion Forest, every single kitsune went to see the blonde off, wishing him luck on his journey and telling him to not hesitate to summon them even if it's for conversation or company. Naruto grinned at them and promised to summon them as soon as he can. He waved goodbye and puffed back into the familiar underground room.

All too soon, it was time for the time travel seal.

\---

Naruto dispelled the last of his clones, his mind automatically sorting and compartmentalizing the information given to him. It was finally that time. He stared down at the intricate and complicated piece of art his clones were busy working out on the stone floor in the mostly barren part of the village of whirlpools that is clear of buildings and structures. The seal itself was large, and it took three hours to complete even with his clones. He let out shuddering sigh.

"Are you ready, kit? You remember the sequence, right?"

The blonde smiled and stepped onto the seal, stopping in the middle. He held up his hands to get ready for the series of hands seals that both he and his companion must accomplish. "Yeah, I'm ready." He looked around his surroundings for hopefully the last time, getting a good look at the world he was leaving behind for a better one. He already packed everything he needed for the journey within the seals on his body.

Kurama nodded from their shared mindscape and readied his own paws for all 125 seals that this jutsu requires. "On three. One. Two. Three!"

In tandem, Naruto and his foxy partner flashed through the hand seals required for the time travel seal. After finishing the 125th seal, they both shouted. "Space/Time Fuuinjutsu: Rewind!"

Almost a second later, the seal flashed brightly and consumed the jinchuuriki. Immediately, Naruto started feeling the pain the fox was talking about before. It was so excruciating that the blonde couldn't even let out a scream.

"Hold on, gaki! It seems like it's working!" The fox stated, grinning. "Just a few minutes longer and we'll be able to go back."

Naruto gave a pained smile.

"Oh, and one more thing..."

The blonde wanted to question what else the fox wanted to say, but his eyesight started to blur around the edges. Before everything went dark, he heard the fox say,

"Happy Birthday, Naruto."


	2. Academy Days

In a broken-down apartment that was situated in the Red Light District of Konohagakure lay a twelve year old sleeping blonde boy. He was situated on a well-worn mattress wearing white pajamas and a sleeping cap. The blankets were thrown haphazardly on the floor as the blonde continues to sleep despite panting and sweating profusely in the early morning light. His whiskered face was scrunched up as if in pain when suddenly his eyes snapped open, showing a beautiful shade of blue orbs. He shot up from his lying position and breathed harshly with his lungs. His eyes darted around, accessing his surroundings.

"Wha....?"

Startled by his own voice of a boy barely in his teenhood, the blonde lunged from his bed stumbling and ran to the bathroom. He quickly went to the mirror and stared at his reflection, gasping. "Holy shit, it worked... The seal worked!"

Grinning with joy, the blonde known as Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto though only known to the world as Uzumaki Naruto since not many knew of his parentage at this time did a little happy dance. This continued on for a few moments until he went back to mirror to stare at his reflection again. He was back to his twelve year old self although he noticed some differences to his person. He was a bit taller by two inches, but it was not much as he was still the midget of the class at the academy. His baby fat was gone making his face look more mature and when he lifted his top, he was slender and lithe, but there was a definition of muscle almost in semblance to his 21 year old self. His sunshine hair was longer and although still spiky, was tamer than before. He saw the seals that he had before the time travel on his body that was almost invisible to the naked eye. He checked his chakra levels and found that it was three times kage level as opposed to mid-kage in the original timeline. He frowned at that. He needed to create a seal to hide it. He went back to his room to his desk. He scowled at the many empty ramen cups littered on the surface. Dear Kami, was he really that much of a slob when he was younger?

He went to the kitchen and groaned as took in more of the sight of his dirty-ass apartment. Note to self, clean apartment, add security seals, and go buy tools, supplies, and groceries for the place. He grabbed a garbage bag from under the sink and went back to his desk. He shucked the empty ramen cups into the bag before putting it to the side. He channeled his chakra to one of the seals on his body. Sealing paper, chakra ink, and fuuinjutsu brush appeared in his hands. Taking the brush and dipping it into the ink, he took the brush and started gracefully gliding it across the paper. He focused on the strokes and symbols to create a seal that would hide his chakra levels and lower it to how it should have been in the original timeline. Finishing the last symbol, he put the ink and brush away before slapping the seal onto his chest. He channeled his chakra, and the seal flashed before disappearing into his skin. He peeled the now blank paper and checked his levels again. Seeing that it was now mid-kage level, he nodded in satisfaction.

Sighing, Naruto turned away from his desk to look at the calendar for the first time since he traveled back in time. He saw it was a Saturday, only two weeks until graduating exams. Enough time to get situated and get used to being back. Well, first things first....

Naruto went to his bed and sat in a lotus position. He breathed in deeply before succumbing to a meditative state. He was instantly pulled into his mindscape.

Opening his eyes, the blonde let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was the forest and not the dank sewer it once was. He looked around and called out. "Kurama? You there?"

"In the cave, kit."

Walking towards the cave, Naruto saw his lifetime companion wearing half-lidded eyes as if he was taking a nap before he came. The blonde kitsune grinned and immediately pounced the nine-tailed bijuu, nuzzling in his soft orange red fur. The fox huffed in amusement before wrapping his tails securely and protectively around his beloved host. "Are happy now that we are actually back?"

The blonde nodded his head, and the two settled in comfortable silence. After a few minutes of peace, Naruto turned to peer at the bijuu to ask a question. "So, what now?"

The fox hummed. "For now, we need to see if you can use your chakra to the levels it was before the time travel as well the jutsu in your arsenal. We also need to see if you still had your good chakra control. Whether or not everything is fine, you still need to train your body and eat healthy. We have time before any plans we need to take action since things only start going to shit during the Chunin Exams. Of course, we'll make note on the events and people that made a great impact or contributed to the war starting."

The twelve year old nodded. "Should we tell Hokage-jiji about this?"

Kurama thought about it for a second before nodding. "It will help in the long run. It might change the timeline, but by traveling back, things are already shifting."

Naruto agreed. "Even so, I think we can take anything the universe throws at us either way."

The fox smirked. "Confident are we, kit?"

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki grinned in lieu of an answer before disappearing from their mindscape.

\---

Naruto opened his eyes and stretched out his limbs. He turned to his trusty gama alarm clock and saw that it was 7:38 in the morning. Deciding to start his day, the blonde bounded over to the bathroom. He did his business and brushed his teeth before stripping himself of his pajamas. He stepped into his shower and turned on the water. He immediately scowled when ice cold met his skin. Damn, he forgot that the bastard of a landlord he had when he was younger never bothered with the heating or other utilities, always charging more for rent for crap service. Joy were the days when he was only known as the demon brat. Sighing, he took note that he could later add a heating seal to the shower head. Oh, how he loved the art of fuuinjutsu.

Quickly getting used to the cold temperature, the teen scrubbed himself clean and washed his hair from any dirt or grime. After 10 minutes of hygiene, the blonde shut off the water and toweled himself off. He wrapped the towel around his waist before walking towards his closet. He opened his wardrobe and was immediately blinded by eye-searing orange. Holy shit. The blue-eyed jinchuuriki blinked at the rows of kill-me-orange jumpsuits. Sighing, the blonde shoved aside the jumpsuits and looked for something more suitable in the back. Don't get him wrong. He loved orange, but there is a limit and he learned that it was not the best color when you're a shinobi.

Finding a dusty box in the far corner, Naruto pulled it out and got out the clothes he needed. Unwrapping the towel around his waist, the teen got dressed in his new outfit. He put on his boxers before pulling on a pair of black ANBU-style pants and taping off the ends. He dressed himself in a midnight blue short-sleeved t-shirt with a white Uzumaki symbol emblazoned on the back. He then put on his blue shinobi sandals to finish it off. He looked himself in the mirror before shrugging. Better than kill-me-orange. He should really go shopping soon.

With that thought, the blonde shut his closet and left his apartment via the window. He jumped onto the roof and started making his way to the Hokage Tower. On the way there, a heavy sense of nostalgia hit him as he took in the village. His village. Unlike the ruins he was so used to as of late, this Konoha was so very much alive. He saw the villagers making their way around either for work or the marketplace. He saw ninja traveling via the rooftop just like he was at the moment, and he sensed the ANBU patrols watching out for anything dangerous or suspicious. Closing his eyes, Naruto sensed the many chakra signatures that made up Konohagakure. Never again will this place see war. He will protect the village with all his being and work towards peace.

Nearing the Hokage Tower, the blonde jinchuuriki decided to take the long way up instead of directly from the window. With the time spent walking up to the office, the teen could better prepare himself to see his Jiji again. His grandfather figure and the first person to see him as he truly was. Just a boy who needed the care of another person when every villager seemed to hate his existence from something he couldn't control. His first precious person. Hopefully, this time his Jiji will live beyond the Chunin Exams and go into his much needed retirement when the Godaime Hokage takes over. Wonder how Tsunade-baa-chan will come to take the hat even though Hiruzen is still alive. Ah, another thought for later.

Ignoring the sneers and whispers when he entered the building and made his way up, the blonde finally stood before the large doors that led to the kage office. The secretary looked up and saw the twelve year old boy. She did a double take when she saw the resident jinchuuriki for once not wearing the kill-me-orange jumpsuit. "Can I help you?"

Naruto turned and mentally sighed with relief when he remembered that this secretary was at least indifferent towards him instead of glaring and kicking him out like the others. He scratched the back of neck sheepishly. "Um, I'm here to see Hokage-jiji. Is he free right now?"

The secretary frowned at the nickname and somewhat blatant disrespect towards the Hokage, but then again, the boy always called him that and Hokage-sama didn't seem to mind it all. Just smiled good-naturedly. "He's free at the moment. He's not due to meetings until late afternoon. You may come see him if you like."

The blue-eyed blonde nodded and knocked the wooden doors three times. He could feel the familiar chakra signature settled inside. Kage level, primary fire, secondary earth natured. He could also sense the muted presences of ANBU guards in the shadows of the office.

"Come in."

Naruto took a deep breath before entering. What met his sight almost brought tears to his eyes. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, sat amongst the piles and piles of dreaded paperwork, every kage's mortal enemy. He wore the standard kage robes, and the cone-shaped hat settled around his wrinkled face, liver spots and all. His signature pipe was situated between his lips as the elderly man smoked away. He looked up from his work, and when he saw the blonde, he smiled warmly. "Ah, Naruto, my boy. My, I think this is the first time you knocked instead of barging in." He chuckled good-naturedly.

The teen was startled out of his musings and grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry, Jiji. Um, can you send out your ANBU guards? I need to talk to you about something important."

Sarutobi lifted an eyebrow before doing what he asked. A flicker of chakra and the ANBU guards were gone. A shimmer showed a privacy seal was in place "Now, what is it, Naruto? And how did you know that my guards were there?"

Naruto was about to answer when he sensed something in the shadows. The presence felt blank, almost empty. The blonde scowled. Danzo's Root. The teen disappeared before reappearing in front of his Jiji, an unconscious Root member at his disposal. The Hokage widened his eyes when saw the blank mask the bearer wore. The blonde boy dropped the person unceremoniously onto the ground before taking off the mask. The person looked like a Nara in his late teens. Naruto shook his head before prying out his tongue. Situated on the appendage was that disgusting seal Danzo used on his soldiers. Of course, he could take it off, but not now. The twelve year old placed his fingers to the Root member's forehead and searched through his memories. Apparently, this Root member was ordered to spy on the Hokage and relay any information of importance directly to Danzo. Yeah, not happening. Naruto placed a seal on the unsuspecting shinobi to keep him unconscious until they figured out what to do with him.

"Naruto... what...?"

Oh, right. "Sorry about that, Jiji. I sensed his presence in the room, and I figured he was not supposed to be there. Apparently, this shinobi is part of the Root organization and was tasked to spy on you by Danzo based on his memories. I placed a seal on him to keep him unconscious for at least an hour and a half." The blonde boy explained to his grandfather figure. Sarutobi frowned at the teenager, trying to discern what was going on. He reached out his senses and checked the boy's chakra. It was definitely Naruto, but the level of skill he showed was not one of an academy student. He supposed all would be answered when the boy talked about whatever he needed to talk to him about. "Okay, Naruto. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Naruto took a deep breath and walked towards the Hokage. He stood next to him behind the desk, and Hiruzen turned in his seat to face the boy. "It's easier if I just showed you. I'm going to show you my memories, Jiji, and things will be better explained afterwards."

The Sandaime nodded and waited in anticipation. The blonde jinchuuriki made a series of hand seals before placing his fingers to the eldery man's forehead. Immediately, Hiruzen was bombarded with images. Naruto showed him everything from his past life. The graduation exams, Mizuki's betrayal, the bell test, the Wave mission, the Chunin Exams, Sarutobi's death, Tsunade as Godaime Hokage, Sasuke's defection, the training trip with Ero-sennin, Pein's Invasion and the run-ins with Akatsuki, the Fourth Shinobi War. Every single event that led up to his inevitable time travel. When the memory of him appearing back in his apartment in the Red Light District surfaced, the blonde boy ended the memory jutsu. He stepped back and gave his Jiji some time to think about what he was shown. Suddenly, he was wrapped in the arms of his surrogate grandfather.

"Oh, my boy. You have been through so much. I'm so proud of how much you've grown, and I'm sure Minato and Kushina are just as proud. You even became Hokage just like you said you would." The Sandaime stated, his hand carting through the sunny yellow hair of the one he loved and cared for like a grandson. Granted, he didn't like seeing the blonde go through war with so much pain and death only to end up alone in a desolate world, but he was nonetheless proud of how strong Naruto became, surpassing his parents in every way and his unwavering determination. The boy truly was the embodiment of the Will of Fire.

When Naruto heard his Jiji utter those words, he couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely from his azure gaze. He wrapped the Hokage in a tight hug, his head shoved in the elderly man's shoulder. When Hiruzen felt the wetness of tears on his person, he smiled sadly, knowing the boy was overwhelmed with emotion, especially since he knew it's been years since the blonde saw him alive and well. He hugged the boy back just as tight until the 21 now twelve year old calmed down. After a few minutes, the blonde let out a ragged breath and stepped back. The elderly man smiled at him as the boy wiped away his tears. The teenager shakily smiled back.

"So, how do we go on from here?" Hiruzen asked him.

Naruto sighed and ruffled his blonde locks. "For now, I need to check if my skills are up to par. Until team assignments, I'll act like how I normally do in the original timeline to stave off suspicion. When the day comes, I'll drop the act and if anyone asks, I'll just say that everything was a mask. After all, one of shinobi's greatest tools is deception. We don't have to do much as of now. Everything starts going downhill when it's time for the Chunin Exams, so we'll plan everything then. This time I want you to live long enough for your retirement, old man."

The Sandaime nodded and smiled when he heard that the blonde refused to let him die by Orochimaru's hands. He really did mean a lot to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. His death must have brought a lot of heartache to the boy. "Alright, Naruto. We'll talk then. Anything else?"

The teen hummed, thoughtful. He snapped his fingers when he thought of something. The boy channeled chakra to one of the seals on his body, and in his hands were the files from Danzo's archives. "Here is the information and evidence on Danzo's Root organization and his many treasonous acts. There is also stuff on the civilian council. Old man, you really need to grow a backbone when it comes to the elders and the council. Personally, I think you should change advisors and disband the civilian council altogether. The clan heads are enough and I'm pretty sure that civilians had no say in shinobi matters."

Hiruzen took the files, thanking the jinchuuriki. With this, he could get rid of the one-eyed warhawk and his organization for good. He's sad that his old friend had stooped so low and succumbed to darkness, but based on the blonde's memories and the information he had in his hands, it's better if Danzo could no longer see the light of day and breathed another breath. He sighed when the blonde took out his point on the civilian council. He agreed wholeheartedly that they were a pain in the ass ever since he took the hat. He cursed Tobirama-sensei many times over for adding the civilians into the council as they were nothing but greedy, stuck-up arrogants who put their noses in places where they don't belong. Looking through files on the civilian council, he'd say he had enough evidence to disband them. If they complain, well, then he supposed it's time to show them exactly why he was known as Shinobi no Kami after Senju Hashirama. He really did need to grow a backbone. He had grown too soft, and he could feel his Will of Fire waning. Well, no more. "I'll keep that in mind, Naruto. Thank you."

The blonde smiled. "Oh, um, I'm pretty sure I still have full control of Kurama's chakra and when it comes the time for me to use it, can you vouch for me? I have a feeling people will freak out, thinking that the seal is breaking or something. And when I do show my real skills in team 7, can you keep Sasuke in check? Knowing how power-hungry he is right now, he probably will be demanding me to show him all my jutsu, saying how he deserved it for being 'an elite Uchiha' (Naruto says this in a sarcastic tone) and he needs it to kill Itachi which both you and I know is entirely innocent and still loyal to Konoha."

The Sandaime took his pipe and puffed a cloud of smoke. He nodded. "I can do that."

Naruto gave his thanks before turning to the still unconscious form of the Root member on the floor. "What should we do about him?"

Hiruzen hummed. "I'll send him to Ibiki and have him deal with it. After that's done, I'll start working on taking out Danzo and his Root as well as the civilian council members."

"Alright. Well, that's all I need to talk to you about, Jiji."

"Okay, Naruto. If you need or want to talk about anything, my door is always open unless something important comes up. I'll always welcome you."

"Thanks, Jiji! I'll see you later! We should definitely go out for ramen sometime soon!" With that, the blonde flew out the window and disappeared from sight.

Hiruzen shook his head at the bouncing ball of sunshine. Why can't people use the door like a normal person? It's there for a damn reason. He turned back to the piles on his desk. He scowled at it. Damn paperwork!

\---

The twelve year old blonde went to the empty training ground behind the Hokage Monument. He jumped down in the middle of the clearing and with a few hand seals, a barrier of his own making erupted as to not alert anyone of what he was doing. He didn't want anyone to find out about his training and if he emitted large amounts of chakra, none would be the wiser. The barrier also acted that if there is any destruction from any of his jutsu, the area would go back to its natural state when the barrier is dispelled. It's less work and it keeps from getting into trouble if the damage was too great.

"Alright, let's get started. First off, chakra control." Naruto went to a nearby tree. He channeled chakra to his feet and started walking up and down. It was as easy as breathing. "Huh, it seems my control is the same."

To truly see if his chakra control is at the same level as before, Naruto started forming a rasengan. A perfect ball of swirling blue chakra shaped itself in his hand. He added fuuton, turning it into a rasenshuriken. He threw the jutsu to the other side of the clearing ensuing the familiar destructive properties the jutsu creates as a result.

"It seems everything is in order, kit. Create a few shadow clones to train and practice. You may have the same control, but you still need to get used to your body with shorter limbs and height. While your clones work on that, you will build up your body's endurance. Use weight seals and start running laps, and do sit-ups, push-ups, the like. When you feel you had enough exercise, spar with your clones for an hour. After that, start working on using my chakra and kitsune sage mode. Remember to take breaks." The fox said from his perch in their shared mindscape.

The blonde nodded and did just that.

\---

The late afternoon sun shined down on the twelve year old lying in the middle of the training ground. Surrounding him was what can be only described as a mini-Armageddon. Holes, overturned dirt, and fallen trees lay in his wake. The teen was panting from exertion and exhaustion. He wiped the sweat from his brow and started to stand up from his lying position after the 5 minute break. He stretched out his sore limbs and worked out a few kinks in his body. Satisfied with his training for the day, the blonde dispelled the barrier and immediately, the training ground reverted back to its former glory. No evidence of destruction in sight. With that, the teen made his way down from the monument and walked towards the marketplace where the grocery stands and supply stores reside in. Knowing he will get overcharged or be sold expired foods, the blonde used his transformation henge. His form took the shape of a teen with brunette hair, green eyes, and pale skin. His whisker marks are hidden from sight as well as the seals on his body. His face was plain to the point where people will notice him, but forget him the next second. He changed his chakra levels to one of an academy student as it would be strange if a child of no Uzumaki origin, clan, or status of a jinchuuriki had more than average levels.

The now brunette casually walked through the crowd, the villagers not giving him much thought which is alright with him. He stopped by a few stands to grab some groceries, getting them at reasonable prices with great quality before placing them in storage scrolls, so he didn't have to carry them. Done with his grocery shopping, the boy stopped by Higurashi Weapons store to get himself some shinobi wear that he could put on when it is time for team assignments and finally get rid of the kill-me-orange jumpsuits. Opening the door to the store, a bell jingled from above signaling a new customer. The twelve year old saw a man in his mid-30s at the cash register and took note that it was Tenten's adoptive father, Higurashi Kai. "Welcome!"

The brunette nodded in greeting and made his way to the clothes section. Looking through the shinobi gear, the teen quickly picked out a few pairs of black cargo pants, t-shirts and sweaters of black, navy, red, and grey (some with the Uzumaki swirl on them), a dark hoodie and zipped jacket, a long-sleeved coat that reached down to his ankles reminiscent of the haori given to him by the toads with its crimson color and black flames licking at the bottom, and black combat boots. He even grabbed a red scarf that could be worn for any type of weather. On the other side of the store, Naruto even stocked up on supplies of ninja wire, shuriken, kunai, sealing paper, an extra fuuinjutsu brush, and tools needed to make his own chakra ink. Getting everything he needed in hand, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki brought them to the register. When he did so, Kai smiled and started ringing up the items. "Found everything you needed?"

The brunette smiled and in a different voice, he answered. "Yeah, thanks. I was just stocking up on supplies."

The store owner hummed. "You're in the academy, right? I heard the graduation exams are coming soon. Do you feel like you're ready?"

Naruto grinned. "I'm pretty sure I'll pass."

Kai laughed. "Is that so? Well, I wish you luck. That'll be 15,942 ryo (about $125) for the items."

The twelve year old quickly paid for the items and put them in storage scrolls. Saying goodbye, the nine-tails jinchuuriki left the store and walked back to his apartment. He let go of the transformation when he neared his building and snuck in through the window. With a sigh, the blonde created shadow clones to help put away his stuff, set up security seals, cook dinner, and clean the apartment. He sat down on his bed to rest for a bit. Turning to the calendar hanging on the wall, he rubbed a palm over his weary face. Just 13 more days until team 7's formation and everything will begin.

\---

During the next two weeks, Naruto played the orange-wearing knuckleheaded prankster. He continued to be deadlast, shouting about being Hokage every chance he got and trying to one-up Sasuke only to fail in the end. He continued to act like he had a crush on Sakura and kept asking for dates even though many times he tried not to throw up because ew, this was his best friend that he loved like a sister and he was already in love with a certain silver-haired nin. He hung out with Iruka-sensei sometimes after school was over or when he had to clean up after his pranks. He visited Hokage-jiji regularly, and they would sometimes go out for ramen at Ichiraku's. The Sandaime reported that he finally disbanded the civilian council and changed advisors. Danzo is awaiting execution for his treason, and the Root organization has been cleaned out after Naruto gave him the seal to counteract the ones used on the Root members. The Root shinobi and kunoichi underwent interrogation at TI to see if they could be loyal to the Hokage and if so, they would train under the ANBU commander or go back to being regular citizens or ninja with promise to go to therapy to help them get used to emotions or being back to regular society and active duty.

Finally, it was time for the graduation exams.

\---

In room 210 at the Ninja Academy, a group of students chatted with each other nervously or with excitement at the idea of finally graduating and becoming a genin. In the far corner of the room near the windows, Naruto sat quietly and observed his fellow classmates. With a hint of nostalgia, Naruto knew most of them would not become shinobi of the leaf. The only ones to graduate were the clan heirs, himself, and Sakura. He took note of the ones soon to be known as team 7, 8, and 10. At the front, he saw Sasuke brooding as usual as the duck-butted haired boy tried to ignore the two of his most obnoxious fangirls, Sakura and Ino. He shifted eyes to observe the other clan heirs. Shikamaru was busy napping and being lazy as usual with Choji sitting next to him munching on a bag of chips. Kiba was being rowdy, having conversations with Akamaru, and Shino was being his quiet self with his kikaichu surrounding him. Hinata was fidgeting in her seat and when he caught her eyes, he smiled at her. She tentatively smiled back with a blush on her cheeks.

During the duration of the two weeks, Naruto let her down easy, knowing the girl had a crush on him. He explained that was more interested in people of the same sex and that his "crush" on Sakura was all a ruse. She was sad of course, but understood and accepted him. In thanks, Naruto tried helping the poor girl build up her confidence to the level he knew she could reach. Before the time travel, Hinata was able to get out of her shell and soon she became a fierce and strong kunoichi. The last few days had been rewarding as Hinata slowly came out her bubble with his help. He also gave tips on her gentle fist style when he noticed that the reason the clan's style didn't work for her was because she was water natured. The gentle fist style was earth-based, so he told her to create her own style of gentle fist that had the properties of water - flowing, freeing, flexible, but at the same time powerful. She took it to heart and started creating her own version.

A slam of the door brought him out of his musings and thoughts. Turning towards the front of the classroom, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei stood at attention. "Alright, quiet down." The noise didn't stop. Gaining a tick mark, Iruka activated his Big Head Jutsu. "QUIET!"

Immediately, all commotion stopped. Clearing his throat, Iruka addressed the class. "Today is a big day. We have the graduation exams to see if you guys had what it takes to become a genin. First, you would undergo a written exam. Then, you will do a physical portion where we will score your shuriken and kunai throwing as well as taijutsu. Lastly, you will perform the academy three. Now, stay quiet, and we will now begin the written exam." With that, Iruka passed the test to Mizuki to hand out. The test was passed out to each student and when it came to the blonde's turn, the boy saw a flicker of a sneer on Mizuki's face before it changed to a very fake smile. "Good luck, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded, and the written portion began. Flicking his eyes to his exam, the blonde jinchuuriki mentally scoffed at the genjutsu on the paper. He dispelled it and quickly answered the questions with the correct answers. Making sure to let Sasuke and Sakura finish first, the blue-eyed twelve year old waited, conversing with his inner fox demon to pass the time. When everyone turned in their papers, everyone filed out of the room to do the physical test.

One by one, students were given kunai and shuriken in order to try to throw them at the targets. Here are the scores as followed:

Sasuke: Kunai - 5/5, Shuriken - 5/5.

Sakura: Kunai - 3/5, Shuriken - 3/5.

Ino: Kunai - 4/5, Shuriken - 3/5.

Shikamaru: Kunai - 3/5, Shuriken - 3/5.

Choji: Kunai - 4/5, Shuriken - 3/5.

Kiba: Kunai - 4/5, Shuriken - 4/5.

Shino: Kunai - 4/5, Shuriken - 5/5.

Hinata: Kunai - 5/5, Shuriken - 4/5.

The civilian kids gave their all, but not as good as the clan heirs and the kunoichi of the year. Soon, it was Naruto's turn. Mizuki handed over his weapons and when the blonde held them in his hands, he found that the shuriken and kunai were unbalanced and rusted at the edges. Internally rolling his eyes at the attempt at sabotage, the teen channeled a bit of fuuton chakra before flicking his wrist. All ten of the weapons hit the bulls-eye mark in the middle of the target.

Turning around, both the blonde and the fox snickered at the gob-smacked expressions though Sasuke was red in the face, obviously pissed that the so-called deadlast got all the targets at the same time.

"What!? Iruka-sensei, Naruto must have cheated! There's no way that a baka like him can do better than Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shrieked, her fellow fangirls agreeing loudly.

Iruka snapped out of shock. "Naruto hit the targets fair and square. If he cheated, can you tell me how?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but stopped when she realized she couldn't prove it. Her face reddened in embarrassment and on that note, the class moved on to the taijutsu sparring.

The students came up one by one to spar against either Iruka or Mizuki. The clan heirs fared better as usual. Sakura was average as she used the typical academy style, and the kids from civilian families struggled against their opponent.

"Uzumaki Naruto. You'll be going against Mizuki-sensei. Winner by knockout or if your opponent steps out of the circle." Iruka called out. Naruto walked up to stand in the sparring circle with Mizuki across from him. They sized each other up. "Hajime!"

Immediately, Mizuki ran forward at chunin level speed, clearly with the idea of wanting to humiliate the blonde. Before he came close to blue-eyed jinchuuriki, the twelve year old disappeared before blackness overtook his vision. A second after Mizuki bounded forward, Naruto appeared behind the unsuspecting teacher in a show of pure speed before knocking him out with a chop to the neck. Utter silence followed as everyone who was watching the spar tried to discern what just happened. Iruka stuttered out. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto by knockout!"

After the moments of shock faded, everyone went back inside the academy building for the jutsu portion of the exam. As they waited outside of the exam room for their turn, the students were whispering and stealing glances at the twelve year old blonde. Naruto couldn't care less and ignored them. That is until Sasuke stood in front of him, scowling. "Hey, dobe. How the hell did you knock out Mizuki? And what was that with the targets?"

The blonde sighed. "I have nothing to explain to you, Sasuke."

Clearly unhappy with the answer, Sasuke was about to say something when he was called to the examination room. Annoyed, he let out a 'hn' before leaving to do the last part of the graduation exams. Shaking his head at the duck-butt avenger, Naruto leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He blocked out everything and just focused on his breathing. When a few others had gone and went, his name was called out. The blonde leapt onto his feet and entered the classroom. Iruka and Mizuki waited for him. "Okay, Naruto. Please perform henge, kawarimi, and a bunshin."

Nodding, the blonde performed a henge, turning into an exact replica of Hokage-jiji. After that he switched places with a chair in the far corner of the room before going back. For bunshin, he prepared and did a hand seal that looked like a cross. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A puff of smoke then revealed a shadow clone. It grinned and waved at the two teachers before dispelling. Iruka and Mizuki had their jaws dropped and eyes wide. Iruka stood up from his seat. "Kage Bunshin!? How did you learn that jutsu, Naruto?"

The blonde shrugged and placed his linked hands on the back of his head. "Hokage-jiji taught me. Apparently, the regular bunshin would not work for me as I have high reserves of chakra."

Iruka blinked at the answer then frowned. That actually makes sense. Regular bunshin requires a small amount of chakra and is reserved for academy students with low reserves. No wonder the blonde had so much trouble. Shaking his head, the academy sensei smiled. "Well, congratulations, Naruto. You pass!" He handed over a hitai-ate to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Grinning, the twelve year old took it and wrapped it around his forearm. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" With that, the teen walked out, but not before seeing the outrage on Mizuki's face.

When he finally stepped out of the academy, the blonde flashed to the Hokage's office to tell the news and warn the old man of a possible Mizuki betrayal. In a glow of orange, Naruto appeared in front of his Jiji, startling the poor man as well as the surrounding ANBU guards. The blonde grinned his foxy grin. "Hey. Jiji!"

"Naruto!" the Sandaime exclaimed. After getting over his shock, he smiled at the blonde jinchuuriki when saw the leaf hitai-ate wrapped around his arm and signaled to his ANBU personnel to leave the room. Activating the privacy seal, he turned to the twelve year old. "I see you've graduated. I'm very proud of you, Naruto." He said warmly. Naruto smiled at his surrogate grandfather. "Thanks, Jiji. I just came here to warn you about Mizuki. Even though he might not have me as a scapegoat, that does not mean he'll try something to get to the forbidden scroll."

Hiruzen nodded. "I'll make sure the forbidden scroll is safely guarded tonight. Thanks for the warning."

"No problem, Jiji. Well, I'll get going now. Gotta rest up for team assignments tomorrow!" In a glow of orange, the blonde disappeared to his apartment.

\---

Morning came the next day and as sunlight filtered through the window of a certain rundown apartment, a pair of azure eyes fluttered open. Uzumaki Naruto yawned widely and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He turned to his alarm clock and saw that he had an hour until classes started at the academy. Today was the day of team assignments.

The blonde dragged himself out of bed and started his morning ritual. He did his basic hygiene and showered. When it came to dressing, the blonde immediately took all his kill-me-orange jumpsuits and set it on fire with a katon jutsu. In his head, he could hear Kurama laughing maniacally, obviously glad to be rid of the abominations. He then dressed in black cargo pants, a red t-shirt with a small black Uzumaki swirl resting on the left side of his chest, a dark zipped up jacket leaving it open, and black combat boots. He then unsealed the hitai-ate Ero-sennin gave him during their three year training trip and wore it around his neck instead of using the one he was given the day before. Closing his closet, he went into the kitchen to cook breakfast. He whipped up an omelet and ate it with a cup of orange juice. After eating and putting away the dishes, he saw that he had 25 minutes left until the academy started. Wanting to know about the Mizuki situation, the blonde flashed over to the Hokage Tower. Standing a few feet away from the imposing building, the blonde tried to sense if there was anyone in the office. Seeing that it was only the Hokage and his ANBU guards, he flashed in front of the elderly man. "Yo!"

The Sandaime jumped and knocked a pile of paperwork off his desk. Looking forlornly at the mess on the floor, he looked up and did a double take when he took in the outfit the jinchuuriki now wore. "Naruto! Wow, my boy, you look like a true shinobi now."

Said blonde rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Thanks." He straightened himself. "What was the situation last night?"

Inhaling a puff of smoke, Hiruzen answered. "The person has been apprehended and is spending his days in the TI unit until further notice."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto nodded and smiled. "That's good. Well, I'm off for team assignments. I'll see you later, Jiji, for my picture and registration form." Before flashing away, the blonde had another thing to say. "Why don't you use shadow clones to help with your paperwork?"

Staring blankly at the spot the twelve year old once occupied, the Sandaime started banging his head against his desk. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of course, shadow clones! That's the secret!" Grinning evilly with a red spot on his forehead, he created two shadow clones to help him, muttering under his breath that he can now defeat the evil thing called paperwork. The surrounding ANBU guards sweatdropped, questioning the sanity of their Hokage.

\---

Sitting in the back of the classroom, Naruto waited for everyone to arrive. Soon, students started pouring in. Shikamaru immediately took notice of him, frowning at his change in wardrobe before shrugging it off muttering "Troublesome." Everyone else took notice, whispering for a bit before turning their attention elsewhere. Sasuke arrived in the classroom and when he met the jinchuuriki's gaze, the raven glared before going to his usual spot to brood. Just like in the original timeline, Sakura and Ino came rampaging in, fighting over who got to sit next to their dear Sasuke-kun though this time he was sitting his ass where he was. No way are they repeating what happened before. He shuddered when he thought of the accidental kiss and getting beat up by fangirls. Kurama laughed from within his mindscape.

"The only person you want to kiss is a certain silver wolf, isn't that right, kit?" The fox remarked slyly. The blonde blushed, cursing the bijuu in his head.

After that moment, Iruka came into the classroom and just like yesterday he had to use his Big Head Jutsu to get everyone's attention. When asked about Mizuki's absence, Iruka only answered that he would no longer be working at the academy before going on his speech about finally becoming genin. He congratulated everyone and started naming the teams. He named teams 1 to 6 before finally...

"Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."


	3. Introductions

The members of team 7 waited for their sensei to arrive. All the other students had already been picked up by their respective teachers and Iruka-sensei left them a while ago. Uchiha Sasuke continued to brood in his little corner, ignoring everything else while Haruno Sakura sat next to him, gushing and trying to ask him out on a date. Uzumaki Naruto sat in the far back reading a fuuinjutsu book written by a fellow Uzumaki who had some interesting ideas and points on demon seals. The book also gave a rundown of ancient symbols and characters that haven't been seen in a long time that could be used in sealing. This continued on for another hour before Naruto sensed a chakra signature heading towards their way. He held his breath as he felt the familiar signature of a certain copy-nin. ANBU-captain level reserves with a spark of lightning. Biting his lip, he continued on reading until he felt the signature right outside their classroom. His cerulean orbs flickered towards the door as a gloved hand reached out and pushed it aside. Heart beating at a fast rate, Naruto took in the figure of the one he loved.

Gravity-defying silver hair, a face covered by a mask with a hitai-ate slanted over his left eye, and an obsidian orb was what caught his eyes first. Taking in the rest of him, the 5'11 lithe male wore the standard jounin uniform and his body was slouched with deceptive laziness. Naruto saw he was observing them and when his eye finally came to settle on his person, the blonde boy could see surprise flashed on his face before his expression settled back to its usual indifference and nonchalance. "Hmm, my first impression of you is... you're boring. Meet me on the roof in five minutes." With that, the 26 year old nin shunshined away in a puff of smoke.

The blonde sighed and sealed away his book before following his teammates to the roof.

\---

Hatake Kakashi, elite jounin and ex-ANBU captain of Konohagakure made his way to the academy in order to greet the team that may or may not pass his test in his classic lateness of three hours. Signature orange book in hand, he thought about his would-be students.

Uchiha Sasuke, the last loyal Uchiha and Rookie of the Year. If this team passes, he would be expected to help the raven with his sharingan once he obtained it. Based on his files, he would most likely be a flight risk and would put himself over his teammates. He's hell-bent on revenge and had a single-tracked mind where he'd do anything he can to gain power, even if it meant the death of his comrades. When he visited the compound with the Sandaime, he saw that the raven-haired was neat and orderly, but the place lacked personality. His home had an empty feel to it.

Haruno Sakura, a civilian-born girl and Kunoichi of the Year. She's studious and seemed intelligent. However, the thing that might be a problem is her fangirlism. When he visited her home, her room consisted of things normal teenage girls had. There's a question of whether or not she takes being a ninja seriously due to her obsession with the last Uchiha.

And finally, Uzumaki Naruto, the orange-wearing deadlast, resident jinchuuriki, and Minato-sensei's legacy. Last time he saw him, he was running from ANBU agents after playing a prank at one of the clan compounds. His grades were atrocious that it is a wonder on how he passed the graduation exams. His personality was reminiscent of Kushina-nee with a hint of Obito especially with him shouting about being Hokage to everyone in the vicinity and his deadlast status. He wasn't able to visit his apartment to get more of a feel of what he is like at home. The Hokage stated that he won't be able to enter the apartment since he wasn't keyed in due to the blonde's security measures. Kakashi had frowned at him and asked what he meant, but the Sandaime said nothing. There was a twinkle in his eyes though, but he wasn't able to discern what he meant by it so he just shrugged it off.

Nearing the classroom the genin-hopefuls were sitting in, the silver-haired nin put away his precious and carefully opened the door. He expected to be caught in a prank by the blonde troublemaker, but was surprised to see there wasn't one. He peered in the classroom and took a few seconds to assess them. In the front of the classroom was the Uchiha and the Haruno girl. As expected, the files described them to a tee based on his observations. He turned to the Uzumaki and what he saw surprised him.

First of all, there was not one lick of orange on him. Instead of the eye-searing jumpsuit he usually donned, the teen was wearing colors of black and red with his hitai-ate around his neck. He looked more like a shinobi than ever before. In his hands, he saw that he was reading a fuuinjutsu book. Fuuinjutsu? Since when did the blonde have an interest in sealing? He took in more of his features. The sunshine hair was longer than he last saw it and was more tameable than the usual spikes. His whiskered face had no baby fat and was slim and mature though it had a touch of femininity to it. His lightly tanned skin from what he could see was smooth and had no blemishes. What caught him though were his eyes. They were a beautiful shade of blue that was reminiscent of both the sky and sea that you could actually feel yourself drowning in. All in all, he had to admit that the blonde was quite attractive on an aesthetic level. Not that he was going to tell anyone that.

Quickly snapping out of it, he drawled in a lazy voice. "Hmm, my first impression of you is... you're boring. Meet me on the roof in five minutes." After that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

\---

The three genin-hopefuls bounded up the steps to the roof. Naruto trailed behind the two almost lazily with his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants, his mind plagued with thoughts revolving around the copy-nin. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous.

"Don't worry, kit. Just be your awesome self and impress him. You'll do fine. Hopefully, he'll pay more attention to you instead of just focusing on the Uchiha brat." The fox intoned, immediately soothing his nerves.

The blonde mentally chuckled. "Thanks, Kurama. What would my life have been like if I didn't have you by my side?"

"You'll most likely be rotting in a ditch somewhere 'cause I'm just that amazing." The bijuu snarked, puffing up his chest at the end.

The twelve year old jinchuuriki rolled his eyes and quietly snorted at that. The three teens finally got to the roof and sat next to each other in front of the jounin that was leaning on the railing waiting for them. Naruto sat at the right, and Sasuke sat at the left with Sakura sitting between them. Their sensei addressed them. "Now that we're all here, introduce yourselves. Tell me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future. Things like that."

"Um, sensei, why don't you go first, so we'll know what to say." Sakura spoke up, raising her hand. The silver-haired shinobi raised an eyebrow. Seriously? What part of introducing yourself do you not understand? He sighed. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate... I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies... I have lots of hobbies."

Naruto smiled at the familiar introduction while the other two sweatdropped when all they found out was his name. The jounin signaled towards Sakura. "Alright, your turn, pinky."

Sakura gained a tick mark, but went anyway. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like..." She glances at Sasuke. "My hobbies are..." Again, she glances to her left. "My dreams for the future..." She blushes and squeals.

Kakashi sighed. "And your dislikes?"

"Ino-pig and Naruto-baka!" The pink-haired girl shrieked. Next to her, Naruto gave a small wince and rubbed his ears. Damn, she's loud. He wondered if her family descended from banshees or something. He desperately needed her to start taking things seriously and tone down her fangirlism. The blonde really missed his medic-nin sister figure.

"Your turn, broody." Kakashi drawled, obviously talking to Sasuke.

Said raven glared before his dramatic introduction. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone."

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes at the emo avenger. The day he kills Itachi would be a cold day in hell once he finds out the truth about the massacre and that his older brother is actually innocent. Hopefully, the truth comes out before Sasuke actually goes to kill the man.

"And lastly, the blonde." Kakashi intoned, looking at the Kyuubi jinchuuriki expectantly. The silver-haired jounin comes off as uncaring, but Naruto could see the spark of curiosity in his stormy orb.

The whiskered teen smiled brightly. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, pranks, training, learning and creating new jutsu, fuuinjutsu, kenjutsu, storms, nature, plants, and kitsunes. I dislike people who don't know the difference between a kunai and a scroll, traitors, rapists, and people who abandon their comrades. My hobbies include training, making seals, gardening, cooking, and surrounding myself with nature. My dreams for the future is to protect my precious people, reach grand seal mastery, and hopefully become Hokage of the village."

When he finished his introduction, everyone was surprised by the mature answer. Both Sakura and Sasuke were bewildered by the change in the blonde while Kakashi looked thoughtful and somewhat intrigued. The jounin cleared his throat. "Alright, you all have unique personalities. I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow."

"What kind of mission, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, frowning.

"First, we're going to do something all four of us can do." He said, looking at them with a bored expression.

"What is it we're going to do, sensei?" Naruto asked, tilting his blonde head even though he already knew the answer.

"Survival training."

"Survival training? We had plenty of training at the academy." The pink-haired girl said, confusion clouding her features.

"This is no ordinary training." Kakashi responds mysteriously.

"What kind of training is it then?" The blonde inquired, acting clueless though in his mind, he was amused.

The silver-haired man started chuckling evilly. Sakura asked what was funny. "Well, if I say this, I'm sure you three are going to be surprised." He lazily eyed the three teens in front of him with a dark glint in his eye. "Out of the 27 graduates, only nine are going to become genin. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of 66%."

The jounin watched the reactions of the would-be genin. Sakura was surprised and paled considerably. Sasuke looked like he didn't care, but he could see the worry in his eyes. Naruto, on the other hand, was smirking with mirth. Confused by the blonde's reaction, he addressed the other two. "See, I knew you would be surprised!"

"Th-then, what was the graduating exam for?" Sakura stuttered out.

The ex-ANBU hummed. "Oh, that? It's just to see who is qualified to become a genin." 

"Eh?!"

"Anyways," the silver-haired nin cut in, "I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow. Bring your equipment and meet me at training ground 7 at 05:00 for your test." Before he poofed away, he addressed them again. "Oh, and I suggest you don't eat breakfast. You might throw up. Ja ne!"

When the teacher was out of sight, Naruto stood up and stretched. He walked over and hopped on the ledge. He glanced back at the other two. "I suggest you eat breakfast if you know what is good for you." With that, the blonde disappeared, leaving the two at a loss. Shaking it off, Sasuke started to walk away while Sakura trailed after him like a lovesick puppy asking for a date.

\---

Kakashi was perplexed. What's the cause? A certain blonde-haired enigma. He was not what the silver-haired man was expecting at all. The 26 year old thought that the jinchuuriki would be loud, brash, and somewhat of an idiot. Instead, Naruto was calm, mature, and there was a hidden intelligence within his eyes. When the boy introduced himself, he found himself drawn to the proverbial ball of sunshine. The jounin had a feeling that there's more to the teen, and the files on him were crap and should be tossed out of the window as the information doesn't seem to add up. The blue-eyed teenager was a mystery, and the copy-nin found himself looking forward to the test tomorrow. Maybe there he could out more about him and gauge him out skill-wise. If there's one thing that he loved as much as his Icha Icha, it was a puzzle that was just begging to be solved. With that thought, the silver-haired man continued on his way to the memorial stone with his beloved book in hand.

\---

After Naruto left his teammates on the roof, the blonde made his way to the tower in order to take his picture and hand in his registration form. Once his photo was taken, the twelve year old went along to turn in his form to the Hokage. Entering the office, Naruto greeted the man. "Hey, Jiji. I'm here to turn in my registration." He handed the document with his information and photo to the elder. Hiruzen nodded his thanks and approved it. He put it to the side.

"How was your first team meeting, Naruto?" The older Sarutobi asked his surrogate grandson.

The blonde hummed. "Well-"

"Old man! Get ready to fight!"

Naruto turned around to see Sarutobi Konohamaru brandishing a shuriken. The blonde smiled at the young brunette that had been his little brother in the original timeline. He wore the familiar outfit of a weird headpiece, yellow shirt with the leaf symbol on the front, long blue scarf that dragged, grey pants with patches, and blue shinobi sandals. Kami, how he missed the kid who called him "boss" and followed him around like a duckling. The eight year old ran forward to execute his attack when he tripped over his scarf and landed on his face. Hiruzen and Naruto sweatdropped.

"Ughhh..." Konohamaru cradled his head before he took notice of the young blonde in the room. He pointed at the older boy. "You must have done this to me! You tripped me!" Naruto chuckled and patted the boy's head. "Sorry, kid. It wasn't my fault. You tripped over your own scarf." Startled by the gesture, the small brunette went to say something when Ebisu ran into the room.

"Honorable Grandson! You mustn't-" The Tokubetsu jounin took a look at the resident Jinchuuriki and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the dark glass glinting. "Oh, you. Honorable Grandson, I would advise you to not associate yourself with the demo- I mean, boy." The Hokage and twelve year old took notice of his slip-up. Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "Ebisu, I believe that Konohamaru may associate himself with Naruto if he so wished."

"Ah, of course, Hokage-sama." The man intoned, bowing to his superior. Ebisu turned to take away Konohamaru for his lessons when he noticed that the two boys were missing. "Where did the Honorable Grandson go!?"

The Sandaime chuckled and refilled his pipe. "It seems that Konohamaru went to follow Naruto-kun when he left." Shocked, the Tokubetsu jounin went out to find the eight year old Sarutobi.

\---

The blue-eyed blonde yawned as he walked through the village. When Jiji reprimanded the jounin, he took his leave and exited the tower. After a few minutes of walking, he sighed and addressed the chakra signature that had been tailing him since he left. "Why are you following me?" He turned around and sweatdropped. He forgot all about the horrible stealth skills the kid had. Konohamaru dropped the tarp with the horizontal bars that clashed heavily with the vertical wooden fence in the background. "You've seen through my disguise. I will allow you to take me on as your apprentice!" The boy exclaimed, pointing a finger in the blonde's face.

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki scratched the back of his head. The last time he did so, he taught Konohamaru the Oiroke no Jutsu. He's not sure if he wanted to teach him that in this timeline. So, what shall he do instead? Ah! "I'm not sure about being my apprentice, but I could teach you something useful that'll help you as a shinobi. Follow me." With that said, the blonde walked off and the small brunette scrambled after him.

The chibi Rokudaime led the boy to a small green field surrounded by forestry. He walked up to one of the trees in the clearing and addressed the eight year old Sarutobi. "I'm going to teach you a chakra control exercise."

"A chakra control exercise?" The younger boy questioned, frowning at the taller blonde.

Naruto nodded in affirmative. "Yes. Can you tell me what chakra is?"

Konohamaru nodded. "Physical and spiritual energy, right?"

"Yes. Chakra is a combination of physical and spiritual energy. The physical aspect is collected from each of the body's cells and can be increased through training, stimulants, and exercise. The spiritual aspect comes from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. When combined, chakra is formed. It is essential for even the most basic jutsu and must be controlled and manipulated to take a desired effect. Are you with me so far?" The time-traveller asked after his little lecture. When he saw his charge show that he followed, he continued. "In order to get the desired effect, one must learn to control it. If not, you might use too much or too little chakra, and it will either weaken or overpower a certain jutsu. With the correct amount, you won't waste excess chakra or have the jutsu blow up in your face and/or not work at all. To work up and contain a balance, shinobi and kunoichi alike undergo chakra control exercises. One of these is tree walking which is what I'm going to teach you. Here, let me demonstrate." The blonde boy turned and started walking up and down the tree he was near, channeling chakra to his feet. Konohamaru stared at whiskered teen in awe.

Jumping down from the tree, Naruto unsealed a kunai. "Channel chakra to the soles of your feet and start going up. Too much, and you'll get blown off. Too little, and you'll slip. Use this kunai to mark your progress. To help you get started, I suggest you lay on the ground and just channel chakra to your feet on the bark. When you feel a suction, remember how it feels and try to sense the amount of chakra you're putting in to create that suction. When you start walking, use that same amount constantly throughout the exercise. Get going."

For the rest of the afternoon, Konohamaru practiced tree walking under the watchful eyes of the blonde. Only the sound of kunai hitting the bark and soft grunts can be heard in the clearing. When the sun hit three in the afternoon, the small brunette was finally able to walk up and down the tree without stumbling or falling. Feeling like he did enough, Naruto called him over to sit next to him on a hollowed log on the ground. He unsealed a water bottle and handed it over to the smaller boy. "You did good. Keep practicing and you'll be able to master it. To truly master tree walking, one must do it on an unconscious level and be able to stay on for at least three hours, even when fighting."

Konohamaru nodded and took a big gulp of water. He felt really accomplished. This type of training was better than all those lectures with Ebisu on things like politics, government, and etiquette. Things that had nothing to do with becoming a shinobi. He was thankful to the blonde for teaching him something that'll help him in the long run.

"So, tell me. Why did you try to attack the Hokage earlier? Isn't he your grandfather?" The whiskered teen asked the boy just like last time.

The expression on the smaller Sarutobi's face darkened slightly. "Well, my name is Konohamaru. It was my grandpa who gave that name. He named me after the village, but nobody ever calls me that. It's always Honorable Grandson. Whenever they see me, they just see the grandchild of Hokage-sama. That's why I want the title of Hokage, so they can acknowledge me when I take the hat."

Naruto hummed and crossed his arms. "It won't be easy, you know. Plus, you don't get the hat to be acknowledged. You get it because people acknowledged and respected you. There are no shortcuts or easy way to go about it. Being Hokage is a lot of responsibility and so much rests on your shoulders when you gain the title. Tell me, what do you think being a Hokage means?"

"Ughhh...." Konohamaru frowned when he couldn't really find an answer to that.

The blonde smiled. "Being Hokage means that you put the village needs before your own, and you do your best to protect it. You're setting up an example for the next generation. You'll be forced to make hard decisions for the village's best interest. Sometimes, you might go against people who will threaten the 'unity' or 'peace' of the village whether it's family, friend, clan, or individual. It is a hard role to keep, and you must have a strong body and mind, but also heart to fulfill the role in order to survive the darker aspects of shinobi. It's a highly respected position in the village and not for the faint of heart or those who break easily."

Konohamaru's respect for the blonde skyrocketed. He didn't realize how much is put into becoming the leader of the village. There's so much that the job entails that he never thought about before.

"Honorable Grandson! Are you out here!?"

The two boys turned to the direction where they heard Ebisu, but the jounin has yet to show himself. Naruto got up and stretched. He patted the boy's head. "Well, I'll gotta get going. If you need anything, I'll be around, but I'm going to warn you right now." The blonde's lips tilted in a smirk. "I'm going for the title of Hokage as well, so I suppose you're going to have to wait in line."

The eight year old Sarutobi blinked in surprise, but got up, smirking as well. "If that's the case, I'm no longer your apprentice, but your rival!"

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki laughed. He smiled down brightly at the younger. "I look forward to it. I'll see you later, Konohamaru." With that, the teen saluted and walked away.

Konohamaru smiled at the blonde's retreating back, happy that someone acknowledged him and called him by his given name.

\---

Knowing that Kakashi was going to be three hours late, Naruto woke up at seven in the morning the day of the test instead of getting to the training ground at five. He did his morning routine and got dressed in the same outfit he wore the day before. He got out of his apartment, activated the security seals, and started walking towards training ground 7. He ignored the glares and mutters of "demon brat" from the villagers as he munched on the onigiri he made the night before, taken from the stasis seal on his arm.

"So, how are you going to go about this test, kit?" Kurama asked him, tails flickering behind him as he laid down on the grass in their shared mindscape.

Gulping down the last bit of rice, he answered the fox in his gut. "Well, we know Kakashi will be doing the bell test and that the whole thing was based on teamwork. When the test starts, I'll just hide and wait for the other two to have at it first. After failing to get the bells on their own, I'll swoop in with the idea of working together since at that point they'll probably realize they can't do it by themselves. I'll fight against Kakashi while I send kage bunshin to gather the team and come up with a strategy to get the bells together."

"Hmm, that's not a bad plan. If it doesn't work, you'll just make something on the fly, especially when you're against enemy shinobi. You're always good at adapting to new situations and coming up with a battle strategy in the middle of a fight."

"Hmm, true. I may not be as good as Shikamaru when it comes to strategies and thinking ahead with contingency plans for every contingency plan, but I make up for it with my unpredictability and out of the box thinking." The blonde mused.

When a familiar bridge came into view, Naruto walked over and entered the training ground. He took in the familiar clearing where team 7 trained as a genin in his past. A lot of memories were made here. He saw both of his teammates near the three logs where he was tied to in the original timeline, and they didn't look happy. Sasuke was glaring and scowling while Sakura looked dead on her feet. "Morning!" The jinchuuriki chirped at them.

Sasuke grunted and turned back to his brooding while Sakura frowned at him, outraged. "You're late!" She shrieked.

Grimacing when his ears rang, the whiskered teen shrugged. "I'm not really late if sensei is not here yet." Without waiting for a reply, he walked over to a nearby tree and sat down against the bark. He unsealed the fuuinjutsu book from before and went back to the page he left on. He peeked over to the other two. "Did you guys eat breakfast like I advised?"

Sakura scowled at him. "Of course not. Sensei said not to eat breakfast! Besides, who would listen to a baka like you?" Sasuke 'hn'ed in agreement.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "He didn't order us to not eat breakfast, just suggested it, so it's perfectly fine to eat. Plus, before any mission, you need to get your strength up, so eating some food is preferable. If you don't eat, you don't get enough energy and therefore, you become more of a liability."

His teammates contemplated his words. It did make sense...

Sighing, the blonde put down his book and unsealed two more wraps of onigiri. He moved to hand them over. "Here."

Looking at him for a moment, the two teens took the onigiri and started eating. "Thanks, Naruto." Sakura said meekly. Sasuke grunted his thanks, munching on his rice. The blonde merely smiled and stuck his nose back into his book. Ten minutes later, Naruto sensed the familiar chakra signature of his sensei. He was hidden among the trees, waiting. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki furrowed his brow, bewildered. Is he just watching us? Did he do this last time? Shrugging it off, the blonde went back to his book, still taking note of the jounin's movements. Twenty minutes had passed before he sensed the chakra move. "Yo!"

"You're late!" Sakura shouted at the copy-nin. Naruto put his book away and stood up, stretching. He turned towards his sensei who eye-smiled, looking laid-back as ever. "Sorry, a black cat crossed my path, so I took the long way around."

Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes twitched at the lame excuse while Naruto smiled in amusement. Kakashi got out an alarm clock and set the time. He then took out two silver bells from his pocket. "Okay, I set the time for 12:00. Your assignment is to take these bells away from me by noon. Since there are only two bells, only one of you will be tied to the stump as that person failed to complete the mission. The one tied will not get lunch as punishment and will be sent back to the academy." Expecting their stomachs to growl at that moment, the silver-haired man was surprised that it didn't happen. He frowned at them.

"Did you guys eat breakfast when I told you not to?"

Sakura and Sasuke looked a little nervous. Naruto just smiled. "Sensei, you only suggested not to eat breakfast. You didn't say it was an order."

Kakashi turned his gaze to the whiskered teen before eye-smiling. "Good job on catching that, Naruto. Way to go on looking underneath the underneath. It's not good to go about missions on an empty stomach." He watched in fascination as the blonde blushed when he complimented him. The slight reddening of his cheeks looked good on him. Clearing his throat and pushing the thought away, the silver-haired ex-ANBU continued on. "You may use your weapons and any jutsu in your arsenal. Nothing is off limits. All I ask is that you come at me with the intent to kill."

"But sensei, won't you get hurt?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Naruto snorted at that. "Sakura, he's a jounin. I doubt any of us can touch him when we just graduated from the academy. Besides, if he's the actual enemy and we don't kill him, he'll kill us first. That's part of life as a shinobi."

Kakashi blinked at the logical point the blonde dished out while Sakura went red with embarrassment when she realized he's right, but won't admit it outloud. The copy-nin was getting more and more intrigued by the blue-eyed jinchuuriki.

Naruto didn't stop there. "We're just small-fry compared to him. If we take turns going against him, we'll probably get nowhere as our chances are slim that way." He looked at his two teammates pointedly.

The silver-haired nin was surprised. He realized that the blonde knew the point of the test was teamwork and was hinting at it towards his teammates. But how did he know? No matter, it doesn't seem like the other two got it. He wondered how the Kyuubi jinchuuriki was going to go about the test when the passing grade was based on working with others. "Well, it seems we wasted enough time already. When I say start, get going."

The three genin-hopefuls readied their stances.

"Ready... START!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter - The Bell Test!


	4. The Bell Test

Once Kakashi signaled the start of the bell test, the three teens rushed to the surrounding forestry to hide. The silver-haired jounin took note of their positions. Sasuke was hiding his presence fairly well as expected from the Rookie of the Year. Sakura, however, is struggling and giving herself away.

Naruto...

The copy-nin frowned. He couldn't sense him at all. It's like the boy just vanished. Interesting. The jinchuuriki seemed to be skilled. He'll be sure not to underestimate him then.

With that thought, the 26 year old took out his Icha Icha book from his weapons pouch and started where he left off.

Now all he had to do was wait.

\---

Naruto took off west of the training area. He hid his chakra signature completely and used the nature chakra from the surrounding forest to help hide his presence. He even made a seal to hide his scent because silver-haired ex-ANBU could use his enhanced sense of smell to track him down. He hopped onto a tree that had a good view of the training grounds. He looked towards the jounin in the middle of the clearing and snorted silently when he saw the familiar orange book in his hands. The loveable pervert.

He didn't have to wait long until a barrage of kunai and shuriken shot through the air towards the jounin. The copy-nin expertly dodged them without even looking up from his smut. Naruto heard a curse from the trees until Sasuke appeared in front of the silver-haired nin. They started engaging in a battle of taijutsu.

The blonde watched the battle with keen eyes. Sasuke was using the Uchiha's Interceptor Fist. He was skilled in it, but the taijutsu only worked so well when you have the necessary doujutsu. Even so, Naruto had to give him props though clearly he was outmatched. The boy wasn't able to land a hit and was visibly getting frustrated. Kakashi saw this and taunted the boy. "Hmm. You're good, but not good enough."

Annoyed and ticked off, the duck-butt haired avenger prepared a series of hand seals. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" He breathed out a giant fireball at the jounin. A flicker of surprise crossed the copy-nin's features before the flames seemed to engulf him. Sasuke smirked, thinking he got him before the expression was wiped off when he didn't see the jounin anywhere when the flames dispersed. Looking around trying to find the older man, the raven didn't notice a hand shot up from under him and dragged the boy's body underground up to his neck.

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu." The silverette lazily intoned. He squatted down to peer down at the scowling teenager. "I'm impressed that you were able to execute that jutsu when you just graduated the academy. Your skills are good, but clearly not enough to land a hit or grab the bells." With that said, the older man walked away going back to his book to look for his other students, leaving the Uchiha to curse and try to get out of the ground.

The blonde watched all of this with slight amusement and moved to another part of the training ground. It's not good to stay in one place for a long time, and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki could sense the jounin heading Sakura's way. He created a shadow clone to follow the jounin when he assesses the pinkette and made another one to send to Sasuke to talk about working together as a team. A few moments passed by until he heard a scream coming from the direction of the girl and the copy-nin. From what he could remember in the original timeline, Kakashi casted an E-ranked genjutsu on the pink-haired girl, making her see something that made her faint. Another moment and suddenly a rush of memories came to the whiskered blonde. He scowled at what he saw.

Apparently, Sasuke didn't listen, claiming he didn't need help from the 'deadlast' and deemed the blonde useless. The raven said he could get the bells on his own and left. Yeah, right. Kakashi outmaneuvered him when he tried getting it himself and ended up being humiliated. What makes him think he can do it on his own when the older man just brought him down a few pegs?

Another rush of memories and this one just takes the cake. The chibi Rokudaime quietly groaned and buried his face in his hands. His shadow clone helped Sakura out of the genjutsu when the jounin was out of sight. When he talked to her about cooperating, the girl barely listened and rushed off to find her Sasuke-kun. Dear Kami.

"Well, shit. What are you going to do now, kit?" Kurama inquired when he also went through the memories of the shadow clones. He was shaking his head with his ears twitching at how idiotic the blonde's teammates were. What the hell were they thinking?

Naruto sighed. "Well, I guess I have to try to get the bells on my own and just go on from there."

The time-traveler reached out his senses and found Kakashi's chakra signature back at the clearing. He rushed off to his position and dropped down in front of the jounin with his hands in his pockets. The older man peered up from his book with his one eye. "So, you finally decided to come out, huh?"

The jinchuuriki sighed and ran a hand through his sunshine locks. "Yep. Apparently, I had no choice considering when I asked the other two to work with me, they either didn't bother or refused to do so."

The silver-haired nin tilted his head as he eyed the other teen. He hummed. "Well, then. Come at me with all you got."

Naruto grinned with a predatory glint in his eyes. He had a feeling this would be interesting. Excitement coursed through him at the prospect of going against someone who might give him a challenge. “Oh, I will.” A second later, the blonde vanished.

Kakashi’s eye widened when the sunshine boy disappeared without a trace, and alarm bells started going off in his head. He heard a whisper of wind behind him, and the jounin turned around just in time to block a kick from his blonde charge. He grunted under the sheer force of the attack. Damn, the kid’s strong. Naruto didn’t bat an eye and immediately executed a barrage of attacks. The silver-haired shinobi was amazed at the sheer speed, grace, power, precision, and flexibility in the blonde’s hand-to-hand combat. His fighting style was unpredictable and seemed to be a combination of different taijutsu styles that covers and blocks any openings. The jounin was left on defense since the teen was relentless, not allowing the older man to breathe. The younger boy was able to charge powerful strikes to his person with a flurry of punches and kicks. Whenever the copy-nin got close enough to get a hit in, the blonde fluidly dodged at the last second almost in a taunting way. The ex-ANBU captain was pretty sure the blonde was teasing him when he saw a spark of mischief in the boy’s cerulean orbs whenever the jounin missed by a small margin.

Backed into a corner, the 26 year old shinobi jumped away from the jinchuuriki at a distance, panting from exertion. The blonde, however, didn’t even sweat or seem winded, looking as if he hadn’t been engaged in an energy-consuming and stimulating battle. The copy-nin contemplated the younger boy with a sense of amazement. The teen was extremely skilled that he was able to fight against him without a scratch, and the jounin didn’t even hold back for a sense of self-preservation. The older man was suffering from the multiple bruises on his body, and he felt and looked worse for wear. Even then, he still believed that the teenager was holding back his power and not showing his true potential. And this was just taijutsu! Sparring with Gai seemed easier than this. He didn’t want to think about the damage the blonde could do with ninjutsu or any other shinobi art the whiskered blonde worked with. Seeing as he was left with no choice if he wanted to get out of this alive or with no fatal injuries, he decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. “Congratulations, you would be the first would-be genin to force me to use this. Get ready.” With that, he grabbed a kunai from his pouch while he used his left hand to lift his hitai-ate. A scarred eyelid was shown before the older man opened it to show a sharingan eye with three tomoe.

Naruto grinned when he saw the infamous doujutsu. It seems things are going to get more entertaining. “I’m honored, Sharingan no Kakashi, the famous Copycat Nin of Konoha.” He saw the man was startled to hear his moniker, and he used that moment to dish out his signature jutsu. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” 50 Naruto’s appeared and surrounded the jounin, surprising the man even more. 30 of them started attacking using taijutsu while 10 threw barrages of kunai and shuriken. The last of the shadow clones disappeared from view or hid in plain sight amongst the crowd to lay traps and seals around the clearing while the jounin was occupied. The real Naruto hid himself among the trees and watched as the silver-haired nin dispelled the clones as they came close to him. He reached out his senses and saw that Sasuke and Sakura were hiding behind a few bushes just watching the spectacle.

When the last of the clones were dispelled, the jounin was breathing harshly, but very much alert. Kakashi observed his surroundings trying to look for the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. A whistle of a blade came from his blindspot, and using his kunai, he blocked a black-bladed katana.

The blonde wielded his favorite sword ‘Benihime’ and did a combination of moves and slashes. He fluidly and expertly twirled his weapon, managing to give a few cuts to the older man while the ex-ANBU blocked and pushed the sword away, still not being able to get close enough to harm the blonde.

Kakashi observed the boy’s kenjutsu, and he could say the teen was the master of his blade, doing a deadly dance that seemed as if the katana was just an extension of himself. This continued on for a few minutes before the Kyuubi jinchuuriki decided to channel raiton to the blade. Seeing sparks coming off from the sword, the jounin quickly moved out of the way as a black panther made of lightning formed from the katana and ran at incredible speed towards the silver-haired nin. The 26 year old quickly decided to use kawarimi when he found that the jutsu was too fast even for his sharingan to block or dodge bodily. The panther collided with the replacement jutsu, the log exploding into a million pieces. Before the jounin could land safely, he heard a series of incantations. “Fuuton: Fūryūdan no Jutsu. Katon: Karyū Enden. Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu.”

Suddenly, three elemental dragons made of wind, fire, and water came bursting towards the copy-nin. The silver-haired shinobi quickly went through a series of hand seals. “Doton: "Doryūheki!” A wall of earth rose from the ground and protected the jounin from the impact of three B-rank offensive jutsu. It was nothing short of astounding that the blonde was able to do three elemental jutsu of that rank one after another when he was supposed to be a genin.

Feeling a presence behind him, the older man moved again to block an attack from the katana-wielding jinchuuriki. They engaged in another dangerous dance before the blonde whipped out a shuriken from a seal on his arm and threw it in the air. “Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” A thousand copied shuriken spread themselves around the jounin. Using kawarimi, the blonde replaced himself with the shurikens one after another, making shallow cuts upon the man reminiscent of the Fourth’s Hiraishin. Using a bit of his chakra, the copy-nin replaced himself with a log and moved a few meters away.

Kakashi felt exhausted. His uniform was tattered, and he felt pain everywhere on his body. The boy was no joke, and the sharingan didn’t seem to help much as the blonde was much faster than he was. He realized the jinchuuriki knew about the weakness of the doujutsu and used it to his advantage. After all, what use of knowing what comes next when you’re not fast enough to act?

He felt his chakra draining at a fast rate due to having his sharingan out and decided to try to end this as soon as possible. He tried to mold his chakra to perform a jutsu when he felt he couldn’t use it. Frowning, he kept trying to manipulate chakra only to no avail. He tried moving his feet instead, but found that he was paralyzed. What…?

”Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. You won’t be able to use your chakra or move anymore.”

Kakashi looked up to see Naruto standing a few feet away from him with his hands in his pockets and his katana nowhere in sight. “How?”

The sunshine haired boy smiled and crouched down. He placed his hand on the ground and channeled his chakra. A light flashed, and a large complicated sealing array appeared under the jounin. “It’s a chakra restraining and paralysis seal of my own making. It locks your chakra, so you can’t manipulate it. It also makes it so you stay in one spot. There’s no time limit on it, so it can be used indefinitely until the user dispels it. It only requires a small amount of chakra to activate.”

Impressed, the Copy-nin smiled at the exceptional blonde jinchuuriki. He pulled down his hitai-ate over his sharingan and glanced over at the alarm clock to see there were only three minutes left until the test was over. “So, are you going to grab the bells now?”

Naruto smirked. “Oh, this?” He took something out of his pocket and in his hands were the two silver bells. He jingled them to show the older man that he already obtained them.

Kakashi’s obsidian eye widened. He looked down at the two bells he was sure he had on him when the ones hanging from his pants turned into rocks. “How? When?”

Naruto hummed. “Since the beginning. While you dodged my punches and kicks from the taijutsu only battle, I quickly grabbed them when I was sure you weren’t looking and replaced them with rocks henged as bells. You were none the wiser.”

The silver-haired nin gaped at the boy from behind his mask. He had it since the beginning and just continued on fighting. Why?

The blue-eyed jinchuuriki saw the question in his stormy orb. He shrugged. “I wanted to see how I fared against you and I got to say, I think I did pretty well.”

The copy-nin shook his head, smiling. “Pretty well? I think that’s an understatement, Naruto. You practically one-up me at any chance you got without a scratch on you. You were extraordinary.”

The ex-ANBU captain watched in amusement as Naruto blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. How cute…

At that moment, the alarm clock rang. With a flick of his wrist, the blonde kitsune deactivated the seal. Feeling the chakra flowing through his body again, Kakashi moved his limbs, wincing as he felt the many wounds he acquired. Seeing the copy-nin in pain, Naruto went over and started healing him with medical ninjutsu, his palm glowing green. The 26 year old shinobi watched in awe as the bruises and cuts disappeared, and the pain lessened. “You know medical ninjutsu?”

The blonde flickered his azure orbs to the jounin’s face. He nodded. “Yes. I thought it would be useful to learn, especially if myself or my teammates get hurt during missions.”

The sharingan-user hummed. The blonde was full of surprises, and he found that he didn't mind it in the least. His curiosity was piqued, and he was looking forward at seeing what else the blonde had up his sleeve. A rustle caught both of their attention, and they turned to see Sasuke and Sakura moving out of the greenery to stand in front of them. The pink-haired girl looked down-trodden while the Uchiha glared specifically at Naruto, probably pissed that the so-called ‘deadlast’ got the bells and defeated the jounin while he couldn't with skills he believed he should have instead so he could use it to kill Itachi.

The older shinobi regarded his other charges. “It seems you two will be going back to the academy as you failed to get the bells.”

”Not so fast, sensei.” Naruto cut in. He took the bells and threw it to the other two. Sasuke and Sakura caught the bells with a questioning look on their faces. The jounin raised a silver eyebrow. The blonde shrugged. “I’m giving my bells to them. The mission was to grab the bells, but you didn’t say you get to keep them.”

The 26 year old nin smirked. “Is that so? So you’re doing this so the other two will pass?”

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki nodded, smiling. “Yep. Besides, we are a team after all.

The jounin eye-smiled. “Well, then, you all passed! Congratulations, team 7! You’re now genin.” He turned to address the Haruno girl and the last loyal Uchiha with a steely look in his one orb. “Listen very carefully. The only reason you passed was because Naruto was willing to give up the bells for you two. Even if you grabbed the bells on your own, you still wouldn’t pass.”

Sakura looked confused. “What do you mean, sensei? I thought we only passed if we got the bells.”

Naruto answered for the ex-ANBU captain. “The test was based on teamwork. If we had worked together to get the bells, we would have passed even if we didn’t manage to complete the mission.”

”That’s right. If you had to work together as a team, I would have passed you regardless of the bell situation.” The jounin added in.

”Then, why were there two bells?” Sakura asked, frowning.

”It’s reverse psychology. He made it so we would go against each other when we saw that there were only two bells. He’s trying to see if we would cooperate despite the less than favorable circumstances and would abandon the mission for our teammates if things go awry.” Naruto replied, carting a hand through his hair.

”Oh.” The girl lamely replied.

The 26 year old nodded at the words of the perceptive twelve year old blonde and started moving from his position. “What he said was true. Now, I want to show you something.” The sharingan-user walked away while his three students followed. He led them to a black stone with names engraved on them. Naruto immediately zeroed in on his parents’ names with a hint of wistfulness. The copy-nin gestured towards the stone. “This is the memorial stone. The names engraved are shinobi and kunoichi who were killed in action. They died protecting their comrades and the village. My genin team is on here. My best friend sacrificed himself, so that me and my teammate can complete the mission. He gave me his sharingan eye as a gift when he was dying.” The older man placed a hand on the eye hidden behind his hitai-ate.

Naruto looked sadly at the jounin. He knew all about Uchiha Obito. Kakashi talked to him about his genin team during the Fourth Shinobi War in the middle of night when they both couldn’t sleep. It was one of the many conversations that brought them closer together in the cover of darkness when everyone else was busy or resting.

”He taught me a very valuable lesson about teamwork and putting others before the mission.” Kakashi turned to his newly formed team. “Remember, in this world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.”

Sakura and Sasuke looked at the jounin with a hint of respect while Naruto smiled at the nostalgic words that were already engraved in his heart from the very beginning. The silver-haired nin clapped his hands, eye-smiling and effectively breaking the somber atmosphere. “Now that we are now a team, everyone meet me at the training ground tomorrow at 6:00 for your first mission. Dismissed!”

Sasuke and Sakura made their way out of the training ground to go home with the jounin following them lazily. Naruto stayed behind.

When they were out of sight and no one was around, the blonde turned back to the KIA stone and kneeled in front of it. He lifted his hand to trace two names: Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. He closed his eyes while his hands formed a praying motion.

’Hey, Mom and Dad. My team passed the bell test again. It went a lot differently than the last time. I wasn’t tied to the stump after making a fool out of myself while practically starving to death. I managed to get the bells and fought against Kakashi on equal grounds even though I was holding back a bit. I even surprised him! He complimented me a few times, too.’ At this point, the chibi Rokudaime blushed. ‘It was nice though I’m totally not used to it. Anyways, now that I’m back in time, I’ll do my best to protect everyone from the horrors I’ve experienced.’ He turned to the blank portion of the stone though in his mind, he filled the smooth surface with names that were engraved on there before the time travel with sorrow, regret, and a hint of grief. ‘Never again will those names grace the stone with its presence. I’ll do everything I can to save everyone from a bitter end.’ He turned back to the names of his parents. ‘Wish me luck, Mom and Dad. I’m going to need it.’

Naruto ended his one-sided conversation and stood up to his feet, brushing away any dirt from his knees. He turned away and started walking back to his apartment, reveling in the peaceful air. He thought of what lies ahead in the coming days.

He’ll make damn sure things go well this time around for his precious people, dattebayo.

\---

Kakashi slowly made his way up to the Hokage’s office to report with his nose buried in his little orange book. He ignored the many gawking stares to his wear and tear form, and when he got to the large wooden doors, he knocked before walking in since he already knew that the other jounin-senseis were present. Everyone in the office turned to the chronically late copy-nin and did a double take when they took in his dirtied and tattered uniform littered with cuts and holes.

”What the hell happened to you?” Sarutobi Asuma asked the silver-haired nin with eyebrows raised, a lit cigarette between his lips.

”My Eternal Rival! What unyouthful thing has happened to you to make you this way?!” Maito Gai exclaimed to his self-proclaimed rival, wearing his hideous green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers.

”Hmm, did you say something?” Kakashi replied in a bored tone, not once looking up from his smut.

”Gyah! Damn you and your cool and hip attitude, Kakashi!” Gai shouted as a river of tears escaped from his eyes. Everyone sweatdropped at the scene.

Hiruzen cleared his throat to gain the attention of the surrounding jounin. “Now that Kakashi is here, we will now begin the meeting. Everyone, report!”

”Team 1: Fail.”

”Team 2: Fail.”

”Team 3: Fail.”

”Team 4: Fail.”

”Team 5: Fail.”

”Team 6: Fail.”

”Team 7: Pass.” Silence ensued. Everyone looked at Kakashi in shock while Hiruzen tipped his hat to hide his eyes, smiling knowingly.

Asuma was the first to snap out of it. “Are you serious, Kakashi? You never passed a team before.” Everyone voiced their agreement.

”Maa, maa. Is it really that hard to believe?” Kakashi intoned with a lazy expression, peering up from his book to stare at the surrounding jounin.

”Kakashi, can you tell us what happened during your test?” The Sandaime asked, smoking on his pipe.

The silver-haired nin hummed and put his book away, shoving his hands in his pockets to report. “One of them was able to discern the real meaning of the test and managed to nab the bells.”

”I bet it was the Uchiha. He is the Rookie of the Year after all.” A jounin by the name of Sukiyo Toya cut in with the others agreeing.

Kakashi lazily regarded him. “Actually, no. It was Uzumaki Naruto.”

Surprise was the overall emotion in the room. ”What?! How did the demon brat manage to do that?” Toya asked, outraged.

”Sukiyo-san!” The Hokage snapped at the jounin, but what caught everyone off guard was the intense glare the copy-nin sported and the slight killing intent towards the aforementioned jounin.

”His name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I would advise you to not show any disrespect, blatant or otherwise, towards my student if you know what is good for you, Sukiyo.” The ex-ANBU growled out with a hint of malice. Everyone was stunned that the always seemingly uncaring copy-nin was protective over the whiskered blonde.

Not wanting to suffer the wrath of the most powerful jounin of the Leaf and an ex-ANBU captain at that, Toya paled considerably and stuttered. “O-of course, Hatake-san. Forgive my rudeness.”

Kakashi narrowed his one eye, but nodded anyways.

Hiruzen cleared his throat. “Please continue, Kakashi.”

The sharingan-user did just that. “From the very beginning, Naruto knew that the test was all about teamwork. After I explained their assignment, he hinted to the other two teenagers the real meaning of the test by saying that since I’m a jounin and they were fresh out of the academy, their chances were slim if they go about it on their own. However, it didn’t seem that the Uchiha or the Haruno girl got it. When I started the exam, they ran and hid in the surrounding forestry of the training ground. Sasuke was able to hide his presence pretty well, but Sakura easily gave away her position. Naruto, on the other hand, hid his chakra signature completely.”

The jounin gasped. A fresh out of the academy student that was able to completely hide their chakra signature was unheard of. Even most jounin struggled to completely hide their presence. The best most can do was suppress their chakra signature to a flicker. How the hell did a kid with the largest reserves barring the Hokage hide his chakra?

”I didn't have to wait long until Sasuke threw a barrage of weapons at me. I dodged them easily, of course, before we engaged in a battle of taijutsu. He was using the Uchiha’s fighting style and he was skilled at it, but it should only be used for when you actually have the sharingan. He soon got frustrated and executed the great fireball jutsu. It was impressive for someone of his rank. I used kawarimi and the headhunter jutsu on him before moving on. I found Sakura hiding on the other side of the training ground. She passed out when I used an E-ranked genjutsu on her.”

At this, the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha, Yuhi Kurenai scrunched up her face in disgust.

”Since I still couldn’t find Naruto, I went back to the clearing and waited. After a few minutes, he came by. He said that he tried to get the other two to work together with him, but they refused or didn’t bother. Then, we started to fight each other using taijutsu.” The silver-haired man smirked. “He was good. He was extremely fast, agile, and strong in his movements. His fighting style was unpredictable, and it seemed like a mixture of different styles of taijutsu. He gave me a lot of bruises and scrapes while I couldn’t even get one hit in. I wasn’t even holding back. Getting nowhere, I decided to use my sharingan. He wasn’t even surprised when he saw it. It seems that he knew about me beforehand as he called me by my moniker. After that, he executed his first ninjutsu: kage bunshin. A total of 50 shadow clones popped up and started attacking me with taijutsu and shurikenjutsu while the real Naruto hid. After dispelling all of his clones, the blonde appeared, wielding a black-bladed katana.”

The eyebrows on Asuma’s face raised in astonishment. “He knew kenjutsu?”

Kakashi nodded. “Yes. He’s skilled with the sword and could even channel chakra into it. He gave me tons of cuts, hence why my uniform is in tatters. This continued on before he used elemental jutsu. He was able to use raiton, creating a black panther of lightning. He also executed three B-ranked offensive jutsu one after another of wind, fire, and water. After blocking three elemental dragons with an earth jutsu, he used shuriken kage bunshin. Using kawarimi, Naruto replaced himself with the shurikens surrounding me and made more slashes and cuts in fast movements. It kind of reminds me of when the Yondaime used the Hiraishin. I replaced myself with a log to get away from the attacks and landed a few meters away. I was about to use my chakra to perform a jutsu when I found that I couldn’t use it or move at all. It was all thanks to the blonde that I was helpless at that moment.”

“What do you mean, Kakashi?” Kurenai asked the jounin, intrigued by the skills the Kyuubi jinchuuriki showed.

The copy-nin ran a hand through his gravity-defying silver hair. “Naruto used fuuinjutsu. I was standing on a seal of his own creation. It’s a chakra restraining and paralysis seal. It makes it so you can’t manipulate chakra and stay frozen in one spot for an indefinite time. I was utterly trapped. There were only three minutes left, and when I asked him about the bells, imagine my surprise when he took out the bells from his pocket. Apparently, he had it since the beginning when we were just doing taijutsu, and the ones I had all along were rocks henged as bells.”

Asuma whistled in amazement. Gai was shouting how youthful Naruto is.

”The alarm clock finally rang, signaling the end of the test. Naruto deactivated the seal and when he saw the damage he had done on my person, he used medical ninjutsu to heal me. When I asked, he said that he learned medical ninjutsu as it was useful and could help should he or his teammates get injured during missions. After that, Sakura and Sasuke came out of hiding. I told them that since they didn’t get the bells, they would be sent back to the academy. Naruto saved them by giving the bells to them, stating that the mission was to grab the bells, but that didn’t mean he could keep them. He was willing to give them up since they were a team. Thus, team 7 is born after explaining teamwork and the real meaning of the test to the two who failed before Naruto saved them.”

Everyone was silent after the given report. They were flabbergasted that the so-called deadlast was extremely skilled with hints of intelligence and was the reason for the passing of team 7. The blonde was able to defeat the copy-nin and give him a run for his money, managing to harm him while he came out of battle unscathed.

Hiruzen smiled. He was extremely proud of his surrogate grandson. The twelve year old really did come a long way. “Thank you, Kakashi, for your report. Please come by with your team tomorrow for your mission.”

Kakashi nodded and went back to reading his book, listening with half an ear as Asuma and Kurenai reported their team’s passing. The silver-haired nin’s thoughts turned back to his cute little blonde genin, and he smiled, thinking that things were going to be interesting whenever the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is around from now on.

He really couldn’t wait.


	5. D-ranks and the Mission to Wave

”Raven, point A. In position.”

”Blossom, point B. In position.”

”Kitsune, point C. In position.”

”Okay, Team 7. Is the target in sight?”

”Yes, sir.”

”Okay. Wait for it... Now!”

The three genin moved to capture their target. Sakura and Naruto managed to corner it while Sasuke quickly grabbed the scruff. Their mission assignment started yowling and scratching the hell out of the broody Uchiha. The dark-haired avenger yelped in pain while the blonde jinchuuriki struggled to keep in his laughter with twitching lips. Sakura moved in to help, but ended up getting scratches as well from the irate cat.

Shaking his head, Naruto carefully approached the feline and gently removed him from Sasuke’s grasps. He cradled him in his arms and kindly scratched his nape and head, prompting the brown cat to give out contented purrs as he snuggled in the blonde’s mindful hold.

The other two genin looked at the blonde, bewildered.

A voice from their earpiece sounded. “Is the target acquired?”

Sakura fumbled. “Yes, sensei.”

”Does it have the ribbon on its right ear? Are you sure it’s Tora?”

”Yes, it’s Tora.” Sasuke snapped, clearly still irritated from getting scratched by the demon cat.

Just then, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke, eye-smiling. ”Okay. Good job, team! Mission: Catch Tora completed.” The silver-haired shinobi took in the battered forms of Sasuke and Sakura with a hint of amusement in his one visible eye before turning to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki who was cuddling with the now satisfied cat with a small smile on his face. “Let’s head to the mission’s office to turn in our target.”

Sasuke and Sakura wasted no time and sped off in the direction of the Ninja Academy where the Mission Assignment Desk was located. Naruto slowly trailed behind them, still giving the cat loving attention and care. Kakashi walked beside him with his signature book in hand.

The last couple of weeks were nothing, but team-building exercises and D-rank missions. They babysat, cleaned up trash, picked up groceries for the elderly, washed the stalls of the many restrooms, removed weeds, helped plant the garden, walked the dogs, and painted the fence. Now, they have a ‘Catch Tora’ mission to add to their records. Sasuke and Sakura were expectantly irked about the many chores they had to do, but Naruto didn’t actually mind the D-ranks. When you had four years of constant fighting and war, these menial labor and chores were a nice change of pace for the twelve year old blonde. He especially enjoyed babysitting and gardening.

The first time they babysat, it was for twin boys from a family of shopkeepers. The terrors were a handful for Sasuke and Sakura until Naruto swooped in and did the job for them. He managed the toddlers with ease and the children were always calm, smiling happily whenever the blonde attended to them. Kakashi and his teammates were shocked at how easily the Kyuubi jinchuuriki handled the two, making the tiny twins gain an instant liking to the blonde boy and always asking for his attention. The mother of the two toddlers was pleasantly surprised. At first, she was weary to have her children be cared for by the ‘demon brat’, but soon her opinion changed drastically when she saw that her kids were happy in the boy’s care. She paid Naruto more than the necessary pay and told him to come by anytime to help take care of her twins.

Gardening was always something the time-traveler enjoyed. He handled the various plants with obvious care and sometimes would go on tangents about each and every flora they came across, giving his teammates useful information on which plants could be used for medicine, poison, nutrients, food, and energy.

For team-building, Kakashi had them spar with each other and build up their body’s endurance by various exercises such as running laps, push-ups, sit-ups, and the like. He had them work together by doing a version of hide-and-seek where they try to track down and capture the jounin using traps, seals, or any other tool. He had them acknowledge each other’s strengths and weaknesses to accommodate them accordingly and improve themselves.

The day after the bell test, Sasuke demanded the blonde jinchuuriki to show him what he knew and give him all of his jutsu with Sakura in the background taking his side. Kakashi came to the blonde’s aid and told Sasuke point blank that Naruto won’t do such a thing if he doesn’t want to. He told the raven he had no right to demand something the blonde obviously worked hard for. Sasuke didn’t take it well and went to talk to the Hokage and the council about it, thinking they would take his side since he was ‘an elite Uchiha’ after all. Sadly for the duck-butted avenger, the leader and his shinobi council refused his demands and turned him away. The raven brooded heavily for days after that.

All in all, these last few weeks held little to no excitement as the days slowly went by.

Team 7 finally made it to Ninja Academy with Tora in tow. Every villager and ninja they passed on the way looked at the blonde and the purring cat in bewilderment. They had never seen a genin finish the Tora mission unscathed with the cat willingly brought back. The three teens, one content cat, and jounin-sensei entered the mission’s office. The Sandaime was seated behind the Mission Assignment Desk with Iruka fluttering about in the background, handling files.

Hiruzen looked up from the papers on his desk and smiled when he saw Team 7 walk in to turn in their mission assignment. He turned to the blonde jinchuuriki and quietly chuckled in amusement when he saw the unusually happy cat snuggling with the equally cuddling Naruto. Kakashi lazily saluted his superior without looking up from his smut. “Yo! Team 7 here to turn in the ‘Catch Tora’ mission.”

Hiruzen nodded. He beckoned Iruka to grab Madam Shijimi, the Fire Daimyo’s wife, to collect her runaway cat. A few seconds later, a corpulent woman with dark brown hair kept in three separate poofs wearing heavy make-up and expensive robes came barging in. She zeroed in the purring cat in Naruto’s arms and snatched it away. She squeezed the once content feline almost to death, the cat emitting screeches and yowls. “Oh my darling Tora, there you are. Mommy was so worried about you!”

Sasuke and Sakura were inwardly smirking at the now tormented cat while Naruto was worried about the welfare of the feline. He walked up to Madam Shijimi and addressed her. “Excuse me, miss? I believe one of the reasons why Tora was always running away is because you seem to always be squeezing the life out of him. I get that it’s your way of showing affection, but I don’t think Tora really appreciates it. With your permission, I like to show how he likes to be held.”

The Fire Daimyo’s wife blinked at the small blonde before allowing him to demonstrate. Naruto carefully adjusted the arms of the woman, explaining how she should cradle it without squeezing too hard and that Tora enjoys scratches on his neck and between his ears. Soon, the chocolate-colored cat was purring and rubbing himself against the palms of the older woman. Madam Shijimi smiled down at the pleased feline and gave the blonde jinchuuriki her eternal thanks as she walked out of the room.

The Sandaime cleared his throat when the woman was out of sight, looking through the many papers on his desk. “Now, for your next mission, you have the option of weeding the gardens, babysitting the Fujima siblings, picking up trash from a nearby lake, helping out with inventory, cleaning out the kennels at the Inuzuka compound, washing-”

”No! I have enough of these D-ranks. They’re nothing, but chores and useless errands. Please give us a higher ranking mission, Hokage-sama.” Sakura pleaded, clasping her hands tightly together.

”Huh, it’s the pink-haired girl this time that gets fed up and asks for a better mission.” Kurama sounded from inside the seal.

Naruto mentally nodded and regarded the fox. “Well, someone has to. Besides, I think this is the day that we get assigned that mission to the Land of Waves. I can’t wait to see the stupid old drunk, Tsunami-san, and Inari-kun again even though they don’t know me at this time. I could even save Zabuza and Haku from their tragic end as they didn’t deserve to go that way. From what I remember, they were working under Gatou to gain money for another attempt on the current Mizukage's life.”

The chibi Rokudaime tuned back to see Iruka reprimand the pinkette about the importance of D-ranks and the ranking system when he caught Jiji’s eyes. There was a question in the elder’s orbs, and the boy gave an imperceptible nod. The Sandaime then looked through the piles of papers for the mission they needed and when he found it, he addressed the team. “I have a C-rank mission for you to complete.”

Everyone, but the blue-eyed kitsune was surprised to hear the Hokage willingly give a higher ranked mission to the team of genin. Iruka snapped out of his shock. “Hokage-sama! Are you sure they’re ready for a C-rank?”

Hiruzen lit up his pipe and took a drag. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. What do you think, Kakashi?” He eyed the jounin across from him.

The silver-haired nin peered up from his book. “Maa, if Hokage-sama thinks they’re ready, who am I to disagree?”

The Hokage nodded. “For your first C-rank, you’ll be guarding someone.”

”Who are we guarding, Hokage-sama? Is it a really important person or someone with a higher standing?” Sakura asked excitedly. Sasuke even looked more alive at the prospect of getting a harder mission. The Sandaime chuckled. “I’ll introduce you now. Please come in, Tazuna-san!”

A grey-haired bespectacled man with a beard and dark eyes, wearing a sleeveless shirt with an obi, pants, and sandals came stumbling in with a pack and straw hat on his back. He was obviously drunk by the flush on his cheeks, the potent smell of alcohol, and a bottle of sake in his hands that he was waving around. He regarded the team in front of him. “What the hell? These are the people who are tasked to guard me? A pink-haired monstrosity, an emo teenager who looked like death itself, a scarecrow, and a blonde midget?”

Said pink-haired monstrosity and emo teenager glared at the drunk with tick marks on their foreheads. Kakashi ignored him and flipped a page in his book. Naruto just shook his head amused, accepting the fact that he’s short for his age a long time ago. It doesn’t bother him anymore.

“That’s not a nice thing to say to people who will be guarding you from possible danger, mister. If you don’t like it, I suppose you could just pay more for better service.” Naruto said with faux innocence. He watched with keen eyes as the middle aged man stiffened when the boy talked about paying more for better guards.

The client took a swig from his bottle. “Tch, whatever. Anyways, I’m Tazuna, the master bridge builder. You’ll be risking life and limb in guarding me to the max until I return to the Land of Waves and complete my bridge!”

The blonde hummed and tilted his head, narrowing his cerulean orbs. “Life and limb, huh? That’s kind of extreme for a simple C-rank. I’m sure the most we’re going to come across are bandits unless you’re telling us that there are stronger enemies waiting for us. Is there, Tazuna-san?”

At this point, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki could see the sweat forming on the man’s face, looking a bit nervous and a bit more sober. The blonde could feel the waves of anxiety coming off from him. Tazuna took another swig, probably to calm his nerves. “Of course not, gaki. So, are we going to get going or not?”

Kakashi snapped his book closed and turned towards his group of genin. “Alright, team. Pack everything you need for the trip. We’re probably going to be gone for two weeks. Let’s meet at the gate in an hour. Dismissed.”

Tazuna walked away, drinking his way out while Sasuke and Sakura rushed home to pack. Naruto turned to his sensei. “Kakashi-sensei, I don’t think this will be a simple C-rank mission. I think there’s more in store for us than just guarding.”

Kakashi regarded the blonde jinchuuriki and nodded. “I think so, too. He seemed quite nervous, especially when you talked about running into stronger enemies. For now, we’ll just keep an eye out and stay alert for anything suspicious.”

”If you say so, sensei.”

The ex-ANBU captain smiled at the whiskered teen and ruffled the boy’s soft locks, enjoying the blush that bloomed on the smaller boy’s face. “Come on, let’s get going. We will be leaving the village in an hour.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “So by your standards, three hours?”

The copy-nin huffed. “I’m not always late.”

The blue-eyed jinchuuriki looked up at the man incredulously. “Ever since team 7 was formed, you have been chronically late for three hours and when you do show up, you always make these obscure excuses that are obviously not true.”

The 26 year old pouted behind his mask. When the sunshine boy saw his expression, he laughed at the slightly sulking man. The copy-nin’s lips twitched into a smile of his own when he heard the melodious laughter of Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

Naruto shook his head and started walking away. “Come on, sensei. Let’s get going. We have a mission to complete and an old drunkard to guard.”

Kakashi complied and followed the teen out of the building. They never saw the Sandaime looking at them with a fond smile on his aging face, knowing that the two would become closer to each other as time went on.

\---

Ten minutes until the hour was over, we find Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna waiting just outside of the village in front of the opened gate. Sakura was busy clinging to the broody Uchiha while the dark-haired teen scowled at something in the far distance. Tazuna continued to get drunk off his ass with a new bottle of sake, glancing over at the three genin every now and then. Naruto was sitting on a branch of a nearby tree, reading a fuuinjutsu scroll he acquired from his kitsune summons and would occasionally engage in a conversation with his inner demon.

A minute before the hour was up, Naruto sensed a familiar chakra signature heading their way. His eyes widened when he realized who it belonged to.

No. Freaking. Way.

He turned his head just in time to see the porn-reading copy-nin pass the gate to step out of the village. “Yo!”

”Kakashi-sensei, you’re not late!” Sakura exclaimed with wide eyes. Even Sasuke looked flabbergasted at the jounin.

Naruto sealed his scroll away and jumped down in front of the silver-haired shinobi. He poked the man on the side of his chest to see if he’s actually there. “Holy shit. You’re really here.”

Kakashi watched the blonde poking him with amusement in his one visible eye. He caught the still poking finger and held it in his right hand. “I did tell you I’m not always late.

The blonde rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Well, sorry if it was so hard to believe. Did you expect me to trust you when you say you’re not always late when your bad habit continues to show ever since I met you?”

The older man tilted his head with mirth. “Hmm... yes.”

Naruto carefully removed his finger from the sharingan-user’s hold and huffed in exasperation though there was a spark of laughter in his azure gaze. “Baka-sensei.”

”Can we leave now?” Tazuna cut in a bit impatiently. Kakashi and Naruto turned to regard the old man. They glanced at each other before nodding. “Yes, we can. Let’s move out. March!”

\---

For the next two hours, the group of five walked down the dirt path towards their destination at a civilian pace. Sakura and Sasuke were walking side by side at the front while Naruto and Kakashi stayed at the back. Tazuna was stumbling in the middle of the four nins, still drinking heavily.

Sakura turned to ask their client a question. “Um, Tazuna-san? You’re from the Land of Waves, correct?”

Tazuna grunted. “Yeah, what of it?”

The pink-haired Haruno turned to the copy-nin. “Kakashi-sensei, are there any ninjas in the Land of Waves?”

The silver-haired man lazily looked over to the teenage girl. “No, there isn’t. Shinobi only exist in the hidden villages throughout the Elemental Nations. Each shinobi village is measured by their military strength. This is how these nations maintain their relationships with each other. Even so, the villages are not under control of these nations. They are equal in rank. The Land of Waves is a small island where it is difficult to be influenced by other nations, so there is no need for a shinobi village. The nations that possess a shinobi village are Hi no Kuni, Tsuchi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni, Kaminari no Kuni, and Mizu no Kuni. Due to their large territory and power, they’re called the Five Great Nations. We have Konohagakure in the Land of Fire, Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, and Kirigakure in the Land of Water. The leaders of these villages are allowed the title of Kage which means ‘shadow’. There’s the Hokage, Tsuchikage, Kazekage, Raikage, and Mizukage who reign supreme over tens of thousands of shinobi in each nation.”

”Hokage-sama is that powerful?” Sakura asked, a bit skeptical.

”Jiji may be old, but he’s called the Shinobi no Kami after Senju Hashirama for a reason.” Naruto said with his hands in his pockets.

”No matter. Don’t worry about it, Sakura. There are no ninja battles in C-rank missions. We won’t be encountering any rogues or foreign nins while on this assignment.” Kakashi and Naruto both watched as Tazuna stiffened while looking around in a bout of paranoia. The two shinobi glanced at each other and nodded, agreeing that something is going to happen soon enough, and they should be ready for an attack.

The traveling group continued on for another half hour before Naruto sensed two chakra signatures ahead. Both are mid-chunin level and have high affinities for water. Naruto discreetly moved closer to the copy-nin and quietly relayed the information. Kakashi gave a small nod in response and signaled him to stay alert.

Soon, a puddle came into view in the distance. Naruto sensed the chakra signatures hiding within the puddle of water, but acted as if he didn’t notice anything amiss. He remembered the Oni Kyōdai, Gozu and Meizu, from the original timeline. They used the same genjutsu in order to ambush them and try to nab the old drunkard.

”Seriously, they used a puddle of water to hide in when it clearly hadn’t been raining for days. Yeah, that’s not conspicuous at all. A tiny pool in the middle of a dry road makes total sense. What dumbasses.” Kurama snarked from inside their shared mindscape. The blonde mentally snorted at the fox’s commentary, but he was inclined to agree. It was pretty stupid.

Naruto unsealed a pad of fuuinjutsu paper, brush, and ink and quickly started making a seal that’ll help in this situation. Finishing the last of the symbols and strokes, he put away his tools and hid the seal from view. Kakashi glanced over with a questioning look in his eye, but the blonde smiled reassuringly at the jounin and was silently asking him to trust him. The silver-haired nin nodded and continued to look forward.

When they were about five feet away from the hidden mercenaries, the blue-eyed jinchuuriki vanished for a total of three seconds before he came back to his position. The only person to notice his movements was his sensei next to him. They finally passed the puddle of water, and at the next moment, the small pool bursted to reveal the Demon Brothers. Before the two foreign shinobi could do anything, a seal flashed from under them, and an entanglement of shinobi wire with chakra restraints wrapped around them, immobilizing them from moving or using their weaponry.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna were shocked as all of this came to play. Kakashi just walked over them and lazily regarded them, tilting his head. “The Oni Kyōdai from Kirigakure. What are two chunin-level shinobi doing out here?”

Gozu, the one with straighter hair and one horn-like structure on his hitai-ate scoffed at silver-haired nin. “As if we’re going to tell you anything. Nothing you could do or say will make us open our mouths and squeal.” His brother nodded in agreement with a glare on his face.

Naruto sighed before stepping up to the two brothers. The pair of mercenaries stiffened as the blonde approached, but they were helpless as they couldn’t move or retaliate at all due to being trapped. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki held up a tanned hand and tapped Meizu’s forehead, ignoring his twin’s snarl. He used a memory jutsu that he knew to be quite effective. Immediately after, a series of memories and thoughts came to mind. He turned to Kakashi-sensei. “They’re here to eliminate Tazuna-san under the orders of a man named Gatou, a shipping magnate who took control of Nami no Kuni and the owner of a smuggling business that dealt with drugs and illegal contraband. The Demon Brothers are also working with Momochi Zabuza, an S-rank missing-nin who once was part of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and his partner, a boy named Haku from the Yuki clan that has a kekkei genkai of Hyoton release. They’re working under Gatou to earn enough funds for a second attempt on the Mizukage’s life.”

Kakashi nodded at the information given while the two immobile brothers gaped at the blonde-haired teenager. “I see. Well, it seems that this mission has gone from a C-rank to an A-rank or possible S-rank if Momochi and his partner gets involved.” He turned to his genin team and their client. He glared at Tazuna who started to sweat profusely. “Tazuna-san, it seemed that you lied to us about the ranking and left out quite a few details regarding the mission. Naruto and I had already known that this was no regular C-rank and possible enemies were waiting for us, so we were prepared. However, it would have been nice to know who we were dealing with beforehand. Care to explain why you lied to us and hadn’t informed us of the higher ranking mission?”

Tazuna loudly gulped. “As you already know, Gatou took over all of Nami no Kuni and had given the people of Wave a heavy tax, leaving us extremely poor and hungry. I couldn’t afford a higher ranking mission, so I settled for a C-rank instead since it is all I can pay for your service. I’m sorry I lied, but I really need help. If I completed the bridge, the Land of Waves will be opening up for trade to other villages and nations. Money will pour in, and our suffering will end from Gatou’s terror and control.”

The copy-nin sighed heavily. “You know, you have not only put yourself in danger, but my team as well. I could handle the threat as I’m a jounin-level shinobi, but this is my team’s first C-rank. They are not ready for the dangers that come with higher ranking enemies and rogue-nin.”

”I know. I’m sorry, but I really need you guys. I can’t do this on my own. What would my beautiful daughter and cute grandson think if no one would help us, and I turned up dead somewhere? They’ll end up hating and blaming Konoha forever.” Tazuna said, trying to play the guilt card. Naruto and Kurama inwardly snorted at the attempt.

Kakashi grimaced, shaking his head and turned to his team. “What do you guys think? Do you want to continue on with this mission?”

Sakura looked extremely nervous, but Sasuke scoffed at the jounin, faintly turning his nose up. “I’d say we go on with the mission. I think we can handle it. It’s just two people coming after the bridge builder after all.” After the raven said this, the pink-haired agreed although a bit reluctantly.

The ex-ANBU captain turned to his cute little blonde student for his input. Naruto was probably the most capable out of the three and could come out of this mission unscathed. After all, he had beaten the jounin without a problem and had skills that far outmatched his own. Experience is the only thing that might hinder him, and first kills might be a setback. However, Kakashi wholeheartedly believed that the sunny-haired jinchuuriki could handle it.

“What do you think, Naruto?” He asked, his one eye observing the blonde kitsune with interest.

Naruto sighed and looked up towards the blue cloudless sky. “Protocol says that whenever a mission is not within our caliber, we must report back to the village and leave others to handle it. However, I think we should continue on. We know who we are dealing with, so we can better prepare for an attack. Also, if we were to save the Land of Waves and help with the completion of the bridge, we might gain an ally with the people of Nami no Kuni, opening to us with trade as well as a treaty between the two villages. The benefits seem to outweigh the risks. If the danger gets too much, we can always get in contact with Hokage-jiji and ask for extra support or leave for the Konoha immediately.”

Kakashi nodded and smiled at the blonde’s explanation and insight. He did make some valid points after acknowledging the fact that going on with the mission that is higher than their level of skill is not part of protocol. If they were to go through with this and complete the assignment, Konoha could gain a very valuable ally and a new trading business with the people of Wave. The benefits did outweigh the cost for the betterment of the village. It seems that they were doing this. “Alright, team. We’ll continue on. If it gets too much to handle, we’ll call for more support or head back as soon as possible. Understood?”

His three genin nodded while Tazuna sighed with relief, thanking them profusely.

”Um, sensei?” Sakura called out tentatively. She then pointed to the glowering Demon Brothers sitting on the dirt path. “What do we do about them?”

”Ah.” The silver-haired man bit his thumb and did the necessary hand signs. A puff of smoke appeared and when it dispersed, a small brown pug wearing a Konoha hitai-ate and a blue vest with a Henohenomoheji on the back sat on the ground floor. The dog looked up with a bored expression and held up a paw. “Yo!”

Sakura and Sasuke blinked at the new arrival while Naruto smiled brightly at the familiar ninken.

Kakashi greeted the small pug. “Hey, Pakkun. Can you head back to the village and inform the Hokage to send shinobi to come pick up the Oni Kyōdai? Also, tell him that the mission has gone to a higher ranking, but we will still be continuing on with our assignment. We’ll contact him if anything calls for it.”

Pakkun nodded and ran back to the village to do as ordered. The copy-nin turned back to the two mercenaries, and in a blink of an eye, he hit a vital point in their neck to render them unconscious before dragging them to a nearby tree. When that was done, he gestured towards everyone to continue on the dirt road and stay alert for more enemies on the way. The four nins and their client moved on in their journey to Wave Country.

\---

About an hour later, they came across a large body of water, a thick mist laid in their wake. The sea was murky, dark, and cold with lazy waves that moved with gentle strokes. The heavy fog was spread out over the large body of water, obscuring their vision and making an eerie sensation in the environment. A boat and a ferryman broke through the haze, and Tazuna walked up to greet him. After speaking in hushed tones, Tazuna beckoned everyone to hop onboard, telling them to keep quiet while they made their way across the ocean. A few minutes later, they were on their way through the waters.

Tazuna sat at the front near the ferryman while Sasuke and Sakura sat next to each other in the middle of the boat with Kakashi and Naruto at the back. The blue-eyed jinchuuriki absently brushed his fingers through the waters, feeling the cool temperatures with slender tanned digits.

”Kakashi-sensei? What was that talking dog?” Sakura asked in a low voice as if not to disturb the surrounding tranquility. It was something that she had been curious about after leaving the Demon Brothers for Konoha-nin to take back to the village for interrogation.

The silver-haired jounin hummed. “That was one of my summons.”

”Your summons are dogs?” The pinkette asked a bit perplexed.

”Yup. I’ve had them ever since I was a child. The Hatake clan are closely associated with hounds, so our summons are always some type of canine.”

Sakura nodded at his answer before turning her attention away. Sasuke sat next to her uncaring as always.

”Pakkun’s cute.” Naruto muttered to himself in a soft tone as to not let anyone else hear his comment on the miniature pug. Kakashi heard what he said though and eye-smiled at the blonde jinchuuriki who in turn blushed. He didn’t mean for him to overhear. Kurama was laughing boisterously at the time traveller’s embarrassment from their shared mindscape, teasing him mercilessly with nine wagging tails.

An incomplete bridge soon came into view, and everyone on the boat marveled at the imposing structure. Even Naruto was in awe despite seeing it before. He can never comprehend how the drunkard of a man could build something so impressive.

The group of five reached land after a few minutes of wading through the waters and got off the boat to continue on their path, thanking the ferryman for taking them to the other side. They walked for another half hour before Naruto sensed two chakra signatures in the surrounding forestry. One signature was jounin-level with a primary water affinity while the other had a muted presence with chunin-level reserves that felt cold and frosty. He quietly relayed the information with his teammates, and everyone got themselves ready for Zabuza and his partner.

A rustle was heard from a nearby bush, and Sasuke threw a kunai this time around instead of the blue-eyed blonde. A white rabbit made itself known by jumping out of the greenery. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the color of its fur. It’s springtime at the moment, so the coat should be more brown. That means the rabbit had not seen the light of day as it was kept captive and was most likely used for kawarimi. Zabuza's and Haku's rabbit then.

A whistle of a blade was heard through the blonde’s enhanced senses, and the large chakra signature from the forest started flying towards them.

”Duck!” He yelled, and everyone complied almost immediately.

A large sword flew above them and loudly thunked against the bark of a tree, penetrating it. A man with light grey-ish skin, short spiky black hair, dark brown eyes, and barely visible eyebrows stood on the hilt of Kubikiribōchō. He wore white bandages on the bottom half of his face, a sideways hitai-ate, striped pants, sandals, and arm and leg warmers with a cow-printed pattern. Behind his bandages, the team could see the wide smirk that their enemy adorned.

”Well, well. If it isn’t the S-Class missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza, Kirigakure no Kijin.” Kakashi lazily intoned, his posture deceptively relaxed with his hands in his pockets.

”And you must be the famous Sharingan no Kakashi of Konohagakure. A pleasure.” Zabuza said with dark amusement in his slightly sadistic and cruel brown orbs.

”Where’s your partner?” The silver-haired man asked almost conversationally.

The missing-nin stiffened imperceptibly before narrowing his eyes and growled. “I have idea what you’re talking about.”

”I think you do. What was his name? Ah, right. Yuki Haku. I heard he had Hyoton release. That’s pretty interesting considering that I’ve heard that the Yuki clan had been eradicated for a while now. I wonder how he survived all these years.” The silver-haired nin remarked, tilting his head to regard the other nin. Zabuza gritted his teeth in response, not liking at all how the tables were turned.

Behind the copy-nin, Naruto watched everything play out. When Kakashi started talking about Haku, the blonde kitsune felt the muted presence in the surrounding forestry flicker as if panicked. Without anyone noticing, the twelve year old blonde created a kage bunshin and sent it away towards the hidden chakra signature.

”Enough! I’m just here to grab the bridge builder, and I’m not going to let you get in my way.” With that said, the Kiri missing-nin dropped to the ground, grabbing his large carving knife along the way.

”Protect Tazuna!” Kakashi called out as he prepared to fight off their enemy, his sharingan eye now visible.

The three genins formed themselves around the bridge builder who was shaking with fear and dreaded trepidation. The last loyal Uchiha and the Haruno girl brought out their kunai with grave expressions and slight anxiety of the incoming threat. Naruto unsealed his brush, ink, and fuuinjutsu paper and started creating a high-level barrier seal. This seal makes it so it erects an impenetrable dome-like shield that whenever an assault was brought down on it, the attacks would bounce back and be used against the assailant. It can overcome multiple S-rank jutsu without breaking. It’ll keep things out, but you could leave the barrier only to never step back in again.

Swiftly, he drew the symbols and kanji with quick precision and absolute concentration. With the last stroke of his brush, he put away his supplies and made the necessary hand-signs to activate the defense.

“Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu: Seimei no Hogo.”

He slammed the seal onto the ground and channeled his chakra. A barrier instantly shimmered around the three genin and Tazuna with a translucent blue before disappearing. Their defense is still there, but it’s invisible to the naked eye. As long as they don’t step out of range, they will be fine.

A few meters away, Kakashi and Zabuza clashed blades for a few minutes before the missing-nin jumped back to stand on the lake nearby to flash through a series of hand-signs. He gathered a large amount of chakra and muttered an incantation. “Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu.”

A thick and heavy mist laced with chakra obscured their vision as it covers the surrounding region, making things harder to see. Suddenly, a heavy killing intent blanketed the area they were all standing in. Tazuna and Sakura were visibly shaken while Sasuke gave a slight tremble. Naruto remained unaffected. Compared to the nine-tailed demon fox’s killing intent, Zabuza’s is nothing more than an annoying fly that can be easily swatted away.

”You know, when I was in ANBU Black Ops in Kiri, there was information on you in the Bingo Book I would carry around with me. In there, there was something about a man who has copied over a thousand jutsu. Kakashi the Copy-Nin.” A disembodied voice echoed throughout the clearing.

”Kakashi-sensei is that amazing?” Sakura asked with wide green eyes.

”Zabuza was in ANBU Black Ops?” Sasuke muttered to himself.

”Don’t lower your guard. Momochi Zabuza is known as an expert of silent killing. Before you know it, you’re dead in an instant, already sent to the Pure Land. I haven’t fully mastered my sharingan, so stay alert for any possibility of a threat. Failure only means death.” Kakashi told the genin behind him.

The mist only became thicker in response.

”Eight spots. The larynx, the spine, the lungs, the liver… The jugular and the subclavian veins… The kidneys and the heart. Which vulnerable spot will be good, I wonder?”

Sakura whimpered while Sasuke started hyperventilating as the killing intent worsened. Naruto noticed this, so he blasted off his own killing intent mixed with Kurama’s to push Zabuza’s off with a large pulse before blanketing his teammates and Tazuna with his own comforting and warm chakra.

”Calm down, guys. Things will be alright. I’m sure Kakashi-sensei will protect us. He won’t allow his comrades to die. l know I won’t.” Naruto reassured, turning to his teammates and client with a slight grin.

Immediately, they relaxed though still tense in case of an attack.

”Are you sure about that?”

A whistle of a blade was heard, but before it could hit its target, the barrier flashed when Kubikiribōchō made contact with it. Almost instantly, the sword bounced back and Zabuza was thrown across the clearing from the force of contact. “What the hell!?”

He backflipped in the air and landed in a crouch a few meters away. He scowled at the dome that protected the genin and the bridge builder from his attack, tsking.

Behind him, Kakashi appeared and swung his kunai at the unsuspecting nin. When it made contact, Zabuza bursted into water, indicating it was a Mizu bunshin. A second later, Zabuza flashed in the sharingan user’s blind spot and kicked him away towards the lake. A splash was heard, indicating that the masked jounin fell into the large pond.

Kakashi resurfaced, his form dripping and soaked to the bone, and saw that the missing-nin was nowhere in sight. He then took note that the surrounding water was heavy. Inquisitive, he didn’t notice Zabuza behind him flashing through hand seals. “Fool. Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu.”

A sphere of water formed around the ex-ANBU captain, imprisoning him in the suiton jutsu.

The S-rank missing-nin grinned at the now helpless copy-nin. “You’re trapped now. There’s nothing you can do to escape. Considering that there is a barrier between me and my target, I’ll just get rid of you first. Prepare to die!”

Zabuza swung his sword in the air, intending to slice Kakashi in half and end him. Before his weapon got any close to injuring the silver-haired shinobi, however, a black-bladed katana blocked it and pushed it away with a great amount of strength to the point where the missing-nin flew halfway across the lake, forcing him to release the water prison jutsu.

Kakashi fell into the pond once more before breaking through the surface, half of his body still submerged. He moved his dripping hair away from his face and looked up to see Naruto standing on the water in front of him protectively, wielding his long obsidian blade.

”Naruto.” The older nin whispered in surprise and slight awe.

The blonde jinchuuriki glanced back and smiled, his cerulean eyes glittering. “Are you alright, sensei?”

The copy-nin smiled back behind his mask before he pushed himself up, using his chakra to stand on top of the lake. “Yes, thank you.”

The twelve year old nodded before turning his attention back to Zabuza on the other side of the pond. The missing-nin regarded the golden-haired shinobi. “You think you could fight against me, boy?”

Naruto tilted his head and hummed. “Maybe, maybe not. But I would recommend that you stand down if you know what is good for you.”

The bandaged rogue scoffed. “Oh, yeah? And why is that?”

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki tilted his lips upward with slight humor. A glint in his blue eyes sent a small shiver down the mercenary’s back. “You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your partner, do you?”

”Zabuza-sama!”

The three shinobi turned their attention towards land, and on the side of the clearing near the trees, a clone of the blonde twelve year old held up a restrained fifteen year old boy with adrogynous features. He had long black hair tied into a bun, pale skin, large brown eyes, and a slender frame. He wore the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit that stopped to his knees, a green haori with white trimming, a brown obi tied around the waist, and light platoon sandals with green straps to match his clothes. His face showed one of apprehension.

The 26 year old missing-nin widened his eyes when he registered who it was that was taken captive. “Haku!” He turned to the blonde teen in front of him on the surface of the water and growled. “Let him go!”

”I won’t hand him over unless you stopped trying to kill us and the bridge builder. I know you need the money to help overthrow the Mizukage, but working under Gatou’s orders is quite a stupid way of going at it.” Naruto stated, twirling the katana in his hand.

The ex-Kiri shinobi glared with steely orbs. “What the fuck does that mean?”

The blonde-haired boy rolled his eyes. “Gatou seems like the type of person who doesn’t go through with his deals unless it benefits him. He seems untrustworthy. I’m quite certain that he’s planning on killing you guys off without paying you when you finished your job because right after, you would be so worn down from the fight that you can’t even retaliate when it’s time for him and his goons to end your life. Use that head of yours. I know you’re smart enough to know that what I said was most likely true. He will kill you once you’re no longer useful.”

Zabuza frowned at him, but thought about what he said. After a few minutes of contemplation, he grudgingly admitted that it was highly likely. Gatou was shady as hell, and he's not above betraying others once they stopped suiting his needs. Damn. Was this all for naught?

Naruto saw that the rogue relaxed his stance slightly. He continued on. “If you really want to overthrow the current Mizukage, you could always join the rebellion against the bloodline purge and his reign. Last time I heard, they’re gaining more advantage and are slowly winning.”

”What!? Who’s leading the rebellion?” The nin asked flabbergasted.

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow before sealing away his sword. “Terumi Mei.”

A series of curses flew from the missing-nin’s mouth. “Terumi Mei!? THE woman! Shit! Alright, if that’s the case, we’ll leave you guys alone and head back to Kiri. If Mei is leading, we have a fighting chance to end Yagura.”

”You’re really going to stop with your mission and head back to Kiri?” Kakashi asked from his place behind his youngest student. His tone was that of bewilderment.

Zabuza gave him an annoyed look. “Yes! The whole reason for doing this is to get the funds to finally kill the Mizukage. With the information your blonde brat gave to us, we’ll be able to go on and complete my dream of finally freeing the Hidden Village of Mist from the tyrant. Gatou can go screw himself for all I care.”

Seeing that the bandaged rogue was being sincere and willing to stop attacking, Naruto ordered his clone to remove the restraints from Haku. When the fifteen year old was finally free, the Hyoton user rushed to Zabuza’s side. The dark-haired man discreetly checked for any injuries on his young charge. When he found there were none and the boy was safe, he nodded towards Naruto and Kakashi before disappearing.

Naruto spread out his senses and found that the two mercenaries were no longer around. He sighed in relief. He was glad that he was able to save them from a tragic end. They really didn’t deserve to die the way they did in the original timeline. Suddenly, he felt fingers carting through his blonde locks in an affectionate manner.

Startled by the gesture, he looked up to see Kakashi smiling at him from his mask with a fond look in his eyes. The twelve year old time traveller shyly smiled back with a slight flush to his cheeks. He then noticed that the sharingan was still out, and the copy-nin’s chakra was plummeting at a fast rate, getting to dangerously low reserves. He quickly reached up and pulled the hitai-ate over the older man’s eye. “Sensei, you shouldn’t have that out for a long period of time. I can sense that your chakra is really low.”

The silver-haired nin gave him a closed eye-smile. “I’ll be more careful next time.” The man then sighed and ruffled his now dried hair that somehow got back to defying gravity. “This fight just proves I need to get back into shape. I’ve gotten lazy over the years and haven't been training as much as I should.”

”Are you sure it’s not because you’re getting old?” Naruto asked innocently though there was a playful spark in his azure gaze.

Kakashi snorted and flicked the blonde’s forehead. “I’m not that old.”

”Really? Because your hair says differently.” Naruto dished out, eyes glinting with mischief and a smirk slowly forming on his lips.

The copy-nin scowled at the tease before pinching both of the teen’s whiskered cheeks. The blonde laughed at him before swatting his hands away. They heard a series of footsteps from the main land and turned to see Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna standing at the edge of the lake.

Tazuna and Sakura looked relieved while Sasuke had a look of annoyance, glaring at them.

”Are you guys okay?” The pink-haired girl asked them with concern.

”We’re okay, Sakura. Nothing to worry about. We’re safe now that Zabuza and his partner are no longer a threat.” Kakashi stated before going back to dry land with the blonde walking next him leisurely.

When they reached the shore, the sharingan user started to collapse to the ground, his legs giving away from fatigue. Naruto caught him just in time before the older man face-planted the hard floor. The boy sighed and shook his head. “Baka-sensei. You exhausted your chakra. You need to rest in order to gain back your levels.”

The older nin chuckled tiredly. “You’re right.” He turned to their client. “Tazuna-san. Can you please lead us back to your house, so we can rest and regather ourselves?”

Tazuna jolted in surprise before nodding. “Yeah. We’re not that far actually. Just a few miles. Come on, let’s get there before dark.”

With that said, the bridge builder led them to his home with Naruto carrying Kakashi the rest of the way. The blonde kitsune was dutifully trying not to blush and was ignoring his inner demon as Kurama poked fun at his host for being so close to the silver-haired wolf.

Stupid fox.


	6. Meeting Tsunami and Inari: Cordial Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I've been swamped with classes and had some family drama to deal with >.<  
> But I'm back! Eyyyyy!  
> Here is the long-awaited update! I apologize if there is not much going on in this chapter.  
> The next chapter will be more interesting.
> 
> Next time on Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create It, training and ending Gatou's terror~

After an hour of walking, Tazuna and the Konoha-nin tasked in protecting him finally arrived at the bridge builder’s home. The wooden house was two stories tall with orange red roofs, and it was situated over the waters next to a windmill-like structure. The client knocked on the front door of the humble abode before it opened to reveal a woman in her late twenties with long dark blue hair, pale skin, and coal eyes wearing a short sleeve pink shirt with a red trim and a knee-length blue skirt. She brightened up when she saw Tazuna and reached out to hug him.

”Otou-san! You’re back!”

The elder chuckled. “Hey, Tsunami. Uh, I brought the ninja with me from Konoha. They’ll be guarding me while I finish up the bridge.”

Tsunami pulled back from her father and looked over to see Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto with the small blonde holding up an unconscious copy-nin that passed out halfway on their journey to the bridge builder’s house. “Oh. Pardon me. My name is Tsunami. I’m Tazuna’s daughter. Thank you so much for bringing my father back home safely.”

Naruto smiled brightly at the older woman with his cerulean eyes glittering. “It’s no problem, Tsunami-san. My name’s Uzumaki Naruto. These are my teammates Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. The man I’m carrying is Hatake Kakashi. If you don’t mind, could you please show us where we would be staying? My sensei needs to recover from his fight. We ran into trouble along the way.”

”Ah, yes, of course. There’s a room upstairs in the far corner that has a spare futon. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that you’ll have to share rooms as there is not enough space.” The woman replied with an apologetic smile.

The twelve year old jinchuuriki jumped to reassure her. “It’s alright, miss. Just having a roof over our heads is a luxury in itself when out on a mission. Thank you for your hospitality.” He bowed to her before dragging his sensei upstairs, his teammates following him quietly while also thanking the woman in their own way.

Once they got up the steps to the second floor, Naruto headed over to the last room in the hallway and pushed the door open. It was a medium-sized bedroom with wooden floors, a closet on the left wall, and a window illuminating the standard area. An empty futon was situated on the right side of the enclosed space. The blonde made his way over to it and gently situated the masked jounin on the mattress, pushing the covers out of the way. He tucked the copy-nin in and sat back in his heels, sighing while ruffling his golden locks.

A knock was made near the door, and the three genin looked over to see Tazuna standing there with his arms crossed. “Hey. Since there isn’t enough space for all of you to have your own room, you guys need to figure out who is rooming with who.”

The three teens looked at each other, and after a moment of debate, it was decided that Sakura would be staying with Tsunami while Sasuke would be sharing with Tazuna. Naruto would be rooming with Kakashi as he has medical knowledge and would be better equipped to help the silver-haired nin if there was any trouble with his health. With that conclusion, they went to their respective spaces as their client told them that dinner will be ready in a few minutes.

When the raven-haired Uchiha and his loyal fangirl left the room, Naruto turned back to the unconscious ex-ANBU captain. He felt his chakra levels and saw that the nin’s reserves were still pretty low. Frowning in thought, the blonde turned to his trusty companion in the seal on his stomach.

”Should I give him some of my chakra? It’ll speed up the process, and he’ll be able to train us fully and be in good shape. Last time, it took him a few days to recover, and he was walking around in crutches.

”Hmm, I don’t see why not, kit. Maybe he could teach you guys more than just tree walking if his reserves were full.” Kurama answered his host while he was lying down on the grass in their shared mindscape.

Naruto nodded with decisiveness. “Yeah. I’ll just make a chakra transference seal and help fill up his coils. He’ll be back in full health with a little more rest after the reinforcement. After all, even with full capacity, it doesn’t account for physical exhaustion.”

The blonde kitsune took out his fuuinjutsu supplies and drew out the sealing matrix needed for the transferring of chakra. The brush made its design of the many symbols and kanji before finally making its last strokes of ink on a white smooth surface. Looking over to see if there were any mistakes, Naruto took the seal and moved it over to the copy-nin when he saw that there were no errors in the fuuinjutsu. He pushed back the covers before unzipping the green jounin vest his sensei wore. Making sure the silver-haired shinobi was still unconscious, the time traveler lifted the older man’s shirt to bare his stomach. He placed the seal above the pale flesh before making the necessary hand-signs. On the last sign, he rested his palm over the seal and activated it, pushing in his own chakra that was separate from the nine-tailed bijuu.

The sealing matrix flashed brightly before the chibi Rokudaime felt the draining of his own reserves. He sensed the other’s chakra levels and found it to be increasing at a moderate rate. When the older man’s coils were at full capacity, Naruto immediately stopped his chakra from flooding into the seal before peeling the fuuinjutsu paper off the jounin’s stomach. He readjusted the man’s clothes back to its original state before zipping up the green flak jacket over the dark blue sweater the copy-nin wore on a day to day basis. He did his medical diagnostic with his palm glowing green as it hovered over the sleeping nin and sighed in relief when he found that the 26 year old shinobi was just suffering from physical exertion. He tucked in the covers back over his beloved sensei before he stood up from his perch, stretching his arms over his head.

The blonde teenager went over to the window and looked through the glass, getting a nice view of the seemingly endless sea and descending sun as the sky turned orange, red, and periwinkle. Dusk was approaching as the setting star made its way over to the horizon. He opened the window, and the wind blew in the salty sea air of Nami no Kuni.

Naruto then made a series of hand seals.

Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu.”

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki slammed his palm on the ground, and a summoning circle appeared. A puff of smoke followed afterwards, and when it dispersed, a one-tailed fox sat on its haunches on the floor. The little kitsune was eleven inches in height, and its fur was inky black with silver markings on its body. Its grey-slitted orbs lit up when it rested on the twelve year old time traveler. The vulpine pounced on the golden-haired shinobi in excitement and anticipation. “Naruto!”

Said blonde chuckled and petted the small fox as its tail swished with happiness. “Hey, Kageno. It’s nice to see you again.”

Kageno was a kit of only a few years old, but he was extremely good at tracking and infiltration. As his name suggests, he can shadow his targets and blend in really well. He never gets caught, and he always gets the information needed. He was perfect for the upcoming task.

”So, what is it you need from me?” The kitsune asked his blue-eyed summoner, scratching his ear with a hind leg.

”I need you to locate a person for me. He is a man named Gatou that works as a shipping magnate here in the Land of Waves as a front to smuggle drugs and illegal contraband to his clients. Find out if he is hiring anyone else other than Zabuza and Haku to disable Tazuna or is planning something to try and stop the construction of the bridge by other means. Scout out his hideout and relay the information to me when you’re done with your mission.”

Kageno agreed to his assignment when all of the sudden, his ears perked up and his eyes sparkled. “Will you reward me with mochi?”

Naruto sweatdropped. He had forgotten that this particular fox was obsessed with mochi. “Yes. Matcha green tea. Your favorite.”

The shadow kitsune grinned toothily and hopped out of the jinchuuriki’s arms before going out the window. The teen watched as Kageno disappeared on his mission to find Gatou and get any information regarding Tazuna and the smuggler’s hideout.

Suddenly, a series of knocks sounded at the closed door of the room, and Naruto walked over to open it. On the other side was Tsunami. The 29 year old woman smiled down at the golden-haired shinobi that answered her call. “Hello. I’m just here to tell you that dinner has been made, so come on over to the kitchen for your meal.”

Naruto grinned at the older woman. “Thank you, Tsunami-san. Just let me inform my sensei and we’ll be right down with you.”

Tsunami nodded and went back downstairs to the kitchen. The chibi Rokudaime turned around and ambled over to where the copy-nin was resting on the spare futon. He squatted down next to sleeping nin and reached out a hand to shake the man awake.

”Kakashi-sensei. Please get up. Dinner is ready, and everyone is waiting for us downstairs.”

Kakashi groaned quietly and cracked open his one visible orb. He groggily sat up from his position on the mattress and blinked away the sleep from his eye as he looked over at the blonde next to him. The whiskered teen smiled at the silver-haired jounin now awake from his slumber. “How are you feeling, sensei?”

The sharingan user gave a quick check on his body and chakra levels. He was a bit sore and tired, but what bewildered him was the fact that his reserves were somehow full. He turned to his little blonde genin with a questioning look in his eye. Seeing the expression on jounin’s masked face, Naruto quietly laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I transferred some of my chakra to you using a seal. Your levels were still low, so I used fuuinjutsu to help fill up your coils. I did a diagnostic on your body. You are just suffering from exhaustion, but a good night’s rest should help.”

Kakashi looked at him in shock and awe. Naruto truly was adept in the art of sealing. “You used fuuinjutsu to lend me your chakra?”

The blonde stood up from his perch and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. I didn’t want you to suffer from chakra depletion, so I did what I could. Anyways, Tazuna’s daughter, Tsunami, made us dinner for tonight, so we better head downstairs to the kitchen.”

The older nin nodded and got up from his bed. He stretched out his limbs to work out some kinks before placing a hand on the younger boy’s head to ruffle his blonde locks. “Thank you, Naruto.”

Naruto’s cheeks reddened a bit before he smiled brightly at the masked jounin. “No problem, Kakashi-sensei.” He took a step back and turned towards the door, starting to walk out of the room. “Let’s head downstairs. We wouldn’t want to keep the others waiting.”

Kakashi nodded and followed the Kyuubi jinchuuriki down the steps to the lower level of the house. When they got to the kitchen, they were greeted with the sight of Tazuna, Sasuke, and Sakura sitting around a long wooden table with Tsunami gathering dishes from the stove on the far side of the room. The blue-haired woman placed the food on the table, and they could see that dinner tonight was grilled mackerel, miso soup, vegetable curry, and rice.

Tsunami turned to the new arrivals and smiled at them. “Oh, good, you’re here. Please have a seat, and we’ll get started on dinner.”

Naruto and Kakashi went to sit next to each other on one side of the table opposite of Sasuke and Sakura. The silver-haired jounin turned to the woman serving them and smiled at her. “Thank you, Tsunami-san. I’m Hatake Kakashi, their jounin-sensei. We are very grateful that you’re letting us stay at your home and cooking for us.”

Tsunami waved the thanks away before taking a seat next to Tazuna. “It’s no problem at all. It’s the least I can do for you guys when you’re here to help my father with the bridge. Now, let’s eat. Oh, where is Inari-kun, Otou-san?”

Tazuna was about to answer when a boy of eight years of age ambled through the doorway to the kitchen and dining area. He wore a green jumpsuit over a yellow shirt and a simple pair of brown sandals. He had on a blue and white striped hat that covered his black spiky hair, and it hung just over his dark eyes. He quietly walked over to the dinner table and went to hug his grandfather. “Welcome back, Jii-chan.”

”Inari-kun, say hello to these people. They’re the ninja who protected your grandpa. They’ll be guarding him while he works on the bridge.” Tsunami told the young child with a motherly tone and a kind smile.

Inari turned to the Konoha natives sitting in his kitchen and stared intensely at them, almost glaring. Naruto internally sighed, already knowing what he was going to say next.

”Kaa-chan, these people will die. There’s no way they can go against Gatou and win.” The eight year old said matter of factly to his mother. Sakura gasped while Sasuke scowled at the smaller boy. Kakashi just raised a silver eyebrow while Naruto quietly gave thanks and started eating.

”Inari-kun! Don’t say things like that.” The mother reprimanded with a disapproving frown on her pale features.

The boy ignored her and began walking out of the room. “If you don’t want to die, you better hurry up and go home. There’s no such thing as heroes. Gatou will kill you.”

”Inari! Where are you going?!” Tsunami asked, standing up from her seat with her palms on the table in front of her.

”My room. Have dinner without me.” With that said, Inari disappeared.

Tsunami sat back down and sighed dejectedly. She smiled at her guests with sadness and apology in her eyes. “I’m sorry about that. Inari hasn’t been the same since that day.”

”What do you mean, Tsunami-san?” Sakura asked curiously.

Tazuna spoke up from his seat, pausing in his eating. “Kaiza. He was Inari’s adopted father. He saved my grandson from drowning after he was being bullied by the local kids. Ever since then, he took on the role of a parental figure in the boy’s life and became really close to Tsunami. He was a hero to the village when the man helped put back a broken dam that could have annihilated a district in town. Kaiza was someone that protected the Land of Waves, and Inari looked up to him. However, when Gatou set his sights on Nami no Kuni, he decided that Kaiza was a danger to his plans and put him to death in front of our people. Inari watched as his father was publicly executed by the very same person that terrorizes us now. My grandson changed after that incident. He became sad, bitter, and angry with no hope or optimism. He was no longer that smiling and laughing boy when he was younger. He blamed Kaiza for what happened, thinking the man had broken his promise to protect us all.” By the time Tazuna finished his piece with a pained expression, Tsunami was crying quietly as a few sobs left her lips. The Konoha shinobi watched them with sympathetic gazes.

Naruto put down his chopsticks and placed a hand over the weeping woman’s fist that was clenched on the table. Tsunami was startled from the gesture and looked up at the whiskered teen with teary eyes. The blonde smiled at her and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Tsunami-san. We’re here to help. We’ll make sure the bridge gets finished, and end Gatou’s reign over the people of Nami no Kuni. Hopefully, by the end of it, Inari will come to hope and believe in heroes again. I know what it’s like to lose someone close to me and feel like things won’t get better, but instead of dwelling, I decided to do something about it and get stronger to protect my precious people. If you don’t mind, I would like to talk to Inari-kun and maybe give him advice and a perspective on shinobi life.”

Tsunami widened her eyes at the blonde’s words, but smiled gratefully at him and wiped away her tears. “Thank you, Naruto-kun. Yes, that will be fine. I just hope for Inari to be happy again.”

Naruto nodded and squeezed her hand once more before letting go. All of the sudden, a puff of smoke appeared on an empty space on the table. When it dispersed, Kageno was sitting there with a grin on his face as his tail swished happily. “Yo, Naruto! I got the information!”

Sakura screeched in surprise with a bit of fear as everyone else looked at the kitsune in shock. Naruto just shook his head in amusement before he petted the dark-colored fox that was situated on the table. The small kit began to purr and lean into his hand. “Hey, Kageno.”

”Uh, kid. What is that?” Tazuna asked, looking at the small vulpine with wariness in his eyes.

The whiskered teen blinked up at him before grinning, rubbing the back of head sheepishly. “Sorry, this is one of my summons. I have the kitsune contract.”

”What?! How did someone like you get a summoning contract?” Sakura asked with narrowed orbs and a wrinkled nose. Sasuke was sitting next to her with a jealous expression on his face.

”It was passed down to me by a very dear friend of mine.” Naruto said with no further explanation.

The two teens looked at him with anger and confusion while Kakashi had a contemplative look behind his mask. The copy-nin stared at the small kitsune before turning to the blonde jinchuuriki. “What did Kageno mean by information, Naruto?”

Naruto hummed and stopped petting his summons. “I asked Kageno earlier to look for Gatou and scout out his hideout. I wanted to make sure he didn’t hire anyone else to go after Tazuna. Even if Zabuza and Haku are not going after the bridge builder anymore, that doesn't mean Gatou wouldn’t hire anyone else to do the job. Kageno specializes in infiltration and tracking, so he was tasked to look out for the enemy and get any information regarding the mission.”

Kakashi nodded at the blonde’s explanation and smiled at him. “Good thinking.”

The golden-haired shinobi smiled back at the silver-haired nin before turning to the small kitsune waiting patiently on the table. “So, what did you find out, Kageno?”

”Gatou’s base is three miles east near the edge of the island. It is located in a safehouse with three levels and a basement. The top level is where Gatou’s office is. His living quarters are hidden behind a false wall at the back of the room. The second floor is where his thugs and bodyguards live. The first floor is the base of operations where the smuggling business takes place. There were a variety of illegal drugs and contraband getting shipped out to the waters from there. The basement is where the archives and vault is situated. It’s heavily guarded by five people at the door. There are a total of 65 men that Gatou has at his disposal. They have no ninja training whatsoever or usage of chakra, but they can use knives, metal pipes, and swords as weapons. Gatou has three thugs guarding the front doors as well as another three guarding the back before they rotate every thirty minutes with a ten minute break between each shift. So far, Gatou has not hired anyone else. It seems he has not found out that Zabuza and Haku abandoned their mission of eliminating Tazuna. Everywhere Gatou goes, he has at least two people with him for protection. Oh, and if you want to get to the vault, the combination is 0-9-6-0-3-1.” The kitsune reported to the chibi Rokudaime in front of him.

Naruto nodded after the details were all accounted for and smiled proudly at his summons. “Thank you, Kageno. Here is your reward as promised.” The blonde unsealed a package of Matcha green tea mochi from one of the seals on his arm before handing it over to the waiting fox summon. Kageno beamed, taking the treat from the jinchuuriki’s hands before bowing in respect. He swiftly returned to the Kitsune realm where he can enjoy his mochi in peace.

The twelve year old time traveler turned to his team leader when the fox disappeared from sight. “So, what are we going to do with the information, Kakashi-sensei? Are we going to do something about Gatou? Even though it is not within our mission parameters, eliminating him would help in the long run and would prevent others from attacking Tazuna or stop the building of the bridge.”

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully as he placed his head on the palm of his hand when he leaned his arm on the kitchen table. “For now, we’ll just keep guarding Tazuna. I’ll be teaching you guys an important shinobi skill first thing tomorrow. So, everyone, wake up at seven sharp the next morning for training.”

”What are we doing tomorrow, sensei?” Sakura asked somewhat excitedly. Sasuke looked at the jounin with interest, probably thinking that they’ll be learning new jutsu or powerful moves that could help him kill his brother. Oh, he is going to be in a world of disappointment once he finds out what they’re doing tomorrow.

”You’ll see.” The ex-ANBU captain said, eye-smiling at his students.

Sakura huffed in annoyance while Sasuke rolled his onyx orbs. Naruto just laughed quietly before quickly finishing up his meal. When he was done, he stood up from his seat and turned to Tsunami. “Thank you for the food, Tsunami-san. It was delicious and very fulfilling.”

The older woman smiled at him. “You’re welcome, Naruto-kun. Thank you for the compliment.”

The blonde accepted her gratitude before nodding towards Tazuna who did the same back. He turned to walk out of the kitchen as everyone else continued to eat. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki decided to take a breather outside and headed out of the welcoming household. Walking around the home towards the walkway that overlooked the ocean, Naruto found Inari sitting on the wooden planks, watching the crystalline waters below. The moonlight was reflected on the wavering surface as the sky was dark with speckled stars glinting back at them from above. He approached the younger boy quietly.

”Mind if I join you?” Naruto asked him softly once he was close enough to the eight year old.

Inari looked up a bit startled and stared at the blonde with wary eyes before nodding hesitantly. The genin smiled in thanks before bending down to sit next to him. Once he was settled, his legs began to sway in the open air at the edge of the walkway just above the currents as he observed the sea before him. The blonde closed his eyes and breathed in the sea salt air before opening his azure gaze, exhaling through his nose. They stayed like that for a while in peaceful silence before Naruto decided to break it.

”I heard about your dad from your grandfather. I’m sorry for what happened to him.”

Inari tensed and snapped his head around to stare at the older boy next to him. Naruto paid no mind as he continued to overlook the sky and sea in a relaxed manner. “Just like you, I had no father or even a mother for that matter. I grew up alone and had no friends. The villagers hated me for something I cannot control or had a say in, and I was a victim of a lot of neglect, abuse, and isolation. I was hurt and scared. I cried myself to sleep most nights and felt so hopeless. One day when I woke up, I decided to put up a mask to protect and hide myself. I would act out and be brash, pulling pranks and just trying to gain some type of acknowledgement that wasn’t directed with hatred. Soon after that, I decided to stop crying and do something about all the pain I had gone through and am still going through now. I opted to get stronger and protect the village even with their hatred. I wanted to rise above my suffering. Even if I lost people in my life and I did, I wouldn’t dwell on it. I would grieve, yes, but that doesn’t stop me in my path. I would continue to protect my precious people even if they were only a few. In their memory and on behalf of them as well as myself, I would do anything I can to get stronger to protect those I care about and love. I realized a long time ago that doing nothing and spiraling further into darkness won’t help me or anyone else.”

The blonde turned to Inari who was staring back with surprise in his eyes at the words that Naruto decided to confide him with. “Inari, I know you are hurt. Ever since that day that Gatou took away someone precious to you, you’ve been angry, bitter, miserable, and pessimistic. You started believing that heroes were not real and nothing good will ever come out. I have been there before. I know how you are feeling, and I can tell you from experience that that will do you no good. As a shinobi, we’ve become accustomed to a world of pain, blood, sweat, and tears. We would lose people, and our lives are always at stake. But we endure. We take what the world throws at us and try to overcome them. It’s not easy, but we try our hardest to live another day. I strive to become better in order to protect those close to me, and would try to help others not go through the same things I did. When I see how your family and home is suffering, it makes me sad and furious that someone would live off of other people’s distress. So, I promise you, Inari, that Gatou will be taken down. You won’t have to worry about him hurting you or anyone else you care about as long as I’m alive. Know that I will never give up or go back on my word because that is my nindo, my ninja way.”

Inari looked at the blonde in awe, and Naruto smiled when he saw there was a bit of hope creeping through in the boy’s eyes. “Think about what I said, and I’ll see you in the morning, Inari.” With that, the blonde teenager stood up from his perch. He turned away from the eight year old boy, but before he could go back inside, he had one more thing to say. “If you don’t believe in others, at least believe in yourself. Be your own hero. Do something about the problem at hand and try to rise above all you have gone through.”

The jinchuuriki walked away to rest for the night, leaving the boy on the wooden planks deep in thought.

\---

Uzumaki Naruto went up to his room after making security seals around the perimeter as a safety measure. You can never be too careful afterall. He walked into his room and saw Kakashi already on his futon, his nose in his Icha Icha book. Another futon was placed next to his sensei’s. It seemed that Tsunami brought up an extra mattress for him to use. The blonde made a mental note to pay back the older woman for her hospitality. Maybe he could go make breakfast in the morning as thanks.

”Hey, sensei.” Naruto greeted the older nin as he ambled over to his bed. He untied his hitai-ate from his neck and sealed it away before shrugging off his jacket and boots. He neatly folded the dark piece of clothing and placed it next to his bed along with his shoes. He flopped onto the soft surface of the mattress with a deep sigh, closing his eyes in relaxation.

Kakashi peered over his smut and greeted the young shinobi. “Hey, Naruto.” He flipped a page of his Icha Icha before nonchalantly stating, “I heard what you said to Inari-kun.”

Naruto smiled softly before cracking open his eyes. He turned onto his stomach and rested his head on his folded arms over his pillow. “I know. I sensed you around the corner.”

The silver-haired jounin was silent for a moment before he spoke up from behind his mask and pervy book. “I’m sure Inari would listen to you after that. What you said was very insightful, and I think you made an impact on him. Especially after you shared about your past. I know you never had an easy life. It was nice of you to try to help him and his family.”

”Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.” Naruto said softly to the copy-nin next to him.

”Just saying what I’m thinking, Naruto.” The jounin said back, eye-smiling at his cute little student.

The blonde kitsune laughed and went under the covers. He got himself settled and closed his eyes, evening out his breathing. A few minutes had passed and Kakashi thought that Naruto had fallen asleep before he heard a whisper within the room. “What I said to Inari-kun goes for you, too, sensei. I know you lost people important to you and had a pain-filled past that probably led to you keeping others at a distance. I can tell you are still grieving, thinking you cause a lot of suffering to others, and probably hate yourself, but I just want to say that I’m here for you. You don’t have to shoulder everything alone. I’m sure there are other people who care about you and don’t want to see you spiraling down in darkness and be filled with so much regret and pain. You don’t have to tell me everything and you are entitled to your secrets, but I just want you to know that I’m here if you need anything. Besides, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends and comrades are worse than scum.”

When the blonde genin finished off his words, Kakashi was rendered speechless. He closed his one eye and placed down his book onto his lap, sighing silently. After a while, he opened his eye once more before turning to look at his student lying next to him. Naruto had his back facing the jounin, and his golden locks were only visible from under the covers.

”Thank you, Naruto.” Kakashi said quietly, his voice carrying on in the silence of the room.

The host of the Kyuubi no Kitsune said nothing, but he had a smile on his face before the blonde finally succumbed to sleep.


	7. Chakra Control and Internal Musings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next update, everyone!  
> It went a bit longer than I expected, so the stuff with Gatou will appear in the next chapter.  
> Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Btw, I'm terribly in need of friends right now, so if you want to talk, just email me at cyxnidelxced@gmail.com or go on my snapchat of the same user. I'll be more than happy to talk about my favorite pairing or anything else. No pressure though! Thanks~
> 
> See you next time!  
> -cyxnidelxced

Dawn approached, and the early morning light slowly made its way over Nami no Kuni. Naruto fluttered open his cerulean orbs and yawned, stretching out his limbs from under the blankets. He turned his head to the left and saw Kakashi still sleeping away on his futon, his pervy book, flak jacket, and sandals laid out next to him. The blonde giggled silently when he saw that the copy-nin had the covers all the way up his nose, probably to hide his face from the world.

The ex-ANBU captain was always so stingy when it comes to his features. No one knew what lay behind the jounin’s mask except the Kyuubi jinchuuriki of course, but the blonde was not one to kiss and tell. So, to the rest of the world, it shall remain a mystery. Naruto remembered fondly of all those times team 7 had tried to find out what was behind the older man's mask. He shook his head in amusement when he recalled that he thought his sensei had fish lips or buck teeth. In actuality, Kakashi was, in fact, very handsome and attractive, making the blonde somewhat glad that his romantic interest hid most of his face from prying eyes. He knew he wouldn't keep his composure around the silver-haired shinobi as effectively now and would probably be fighting off other pursuers for the copy-nin's affections.

The Uzumaki pushed back the covers and stood up from his lying position on the futon. He turned to the only window in the room and saw that it was probably half way past five in the morning. Deciding to get an early start to his day, Naruto put on his jacket and boots, unsealing his hitai-ate to tie around his neck. He made his bed and silently walked out of the room, sealing the door behind him in case someone tries to take a peek or disturb the man’s sleep. He used the bathroom before going down the steps to the kitchen and went to take a look inside the fridge. He saw there were eggs, bacon, spinach, green onions, tomatoes, and herbs within the confined space. Opting to make spinach and bacon omelettes with diced tomatoes for breakfast, the blonde took out the necessary ingredients, spices, pan, and cooking utensils from the fridge and pantry to get started on making food for his team and the bridge builder’s family.

While he was making the fluffy and delicious entrees, he heated up the leftover miso soup and whipped up a batch of rice. Humming softly to himself, he sensed someone coming down from upstairs and making their way towards the kitchen and dining area. Plating the first omelette onto an empty dish, he turned his head and saw Tsunami coming through the doorway into the kitchen.

”Good morning, Tsunami-san! Sorry, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer for breakfast since it's not ready yet. It'll be finished soon enough though.” The blonde chirped from his place at the stove as he poured the eggy mixture onto the pan for the second batch.

The older woman was surprised to see the twelve year old genin up this early in the morning to make breakfast for everyone, but smiled all the same. “Good morning, Naruto-kun. You don’t have to make breakfast for us. I would have been more than happy to cook for everyone.”

Naruto hummed as he went to make another plate. “It’s the least I can do. I just wanted to do something as thanks for letting us stay at your home for the duration of the mission.”

Tsunami smiled gratefully at the younger boy. “Well, thank you for breakfast. Is there anything I can do to help? I feel kind of bad on letting you do all the work this morning.”

”Well, would you mind plating the rice and soup while setting up the table?”

”Not at all.” The 29 year old woman went to do her task as the blue-eyed teenager continued to cook. The kitchen rested in comfortable silence save for the occasional sizzle of the pan or the clattering of dishes and utensils. Soon enough, breakfast was made and served on the table for everyone to eat.

Naruto wiped his hands with a rag when he finished cooking and after putting that away, he turned to the other occupant in the room. “I’ll go call everyone down for breakfast.”

After seeing the woman nod in response, the blonde jinchuuriki shuffled up the steps and knocked on the first door on the left. He heard a muffled curse and grumbling before heavy steps made its way over from the other side. The door opened to reveal a disheveled and annoyed Sasuke in his pajamas with a seemingly permanent scowl on his pale features. Naruto looked behind him and saw Tazuna rubbing his eyes as the elder sat up in his place on the bed.

”What do you want, Dobe?” Sasuke gritted out with narrowed orbs.

The blonde barely managed from rolling his eyes. “Breakfast is made, so come on down when you’re ready.”

When the teen finished his sentence, he was met with a door slamming in his face. This time, the blonde really did roll his eyes.

”Someone is not a morning person.” He muttered to himself. He heard Kurama agree wholeheartedly from within the seal.

Naruto went to the next door in the hallway and knocked. He heard a few muted rustles before Sakura opened the door to her shared room. She wore a baby blue short sleeve dress that reached her knees, and her pink hair was messy from sleep. She was only half unconscious, but seemingly managed to keep her eyes open.

”Breakfast is ready, so come on down when you’re dressed and all.”

The pinkette nodded absentmindedly and closed the door to get ready for the day. The blonde went to the second to last door in the hall. After he knocked three times, eight year old Inari opened the door to his room and when he saw the golden-haired shinobi in front of him, he smiled shyly up at the taller boy.

When Naruto saw this, he grinned at the younger. “Morning, Inari.”

”Morning.” The boy said quietly.

”Have you thought about what I said last night?” The Kyuubi jinchuuriki asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the door frame.

Inari nodded. “I won’t stand around and do nothing anymore. Complaining and whining won’t change anything. I’ll try to be more positive and do anything I can to help those I care about.”

Naruto nodded and smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair to show how proud he was of the kid. “Good. I'm glad.”

”Um…” The eight year old started, but trailed off uncertain as he looked down to his bare feet.

”What is it?” The time traveler asked, tilting his head as he regarded the child still not meeting his gaze.

The boy pursed his lips before looking up with determined eyes after a few minutes of silence. “I just want to say I’m sorry for how I acted the day before. I had no right to say things like that, and I should be grateful that you guys are helping us with the bridge and dealing with Gatou. So, thank you.”

Naruto was stunned for a moment before he laughed quietly. He gave out a grin that lit up his face with a happy glow. “It’s alright, kid. Now, go on and get dressed. Breakfast is ready, and I’m pretty sure you’re hungry since you didn’t eat with us last night.”

Inari nodded and went to get ready while the blonde made his way over to his room in order to wake up his sensei. The twelve year old genin unsealed the door and walked in, only to collide with a hard chest. He stumbled back and before he fell on his ass, a hand shot out and grabbed his arm to steady him.

Naruto blinked a few times before he looked up to see an amused copy-nin looking down at him, already dressed and mask in place.

”Morning.” The silver-haired jounin greeted his student as his one visible eye made a happy crescent.

The blonde huffed before he took a step back to get some space between them. This caused the older nin’s hand to trail down his left arm as he let go, causing a shiver to go down the smaller male's spine. Thankfully, this went unnoticed by the older shinobi, and the blonde quickly composed himself to save face. “Morning. Breakfast is ready, so we should head downstairs to eat before we start training.”

Kakashi nodded, and they both went down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. As they sat down at the table with Tsunami, Sasuke and Sakura finally showed up with Tazuna and Inari trailing behind them. They took a seat around the long wooden table and gave thanks for their food.

”Itadakimasu!”

The group grabbed their chopsticks and started eating their meal. When everyone with the exception of Naruto took their first bite of their omelette, their eyes widened in surprise and delight at the wonderful explosion of flavor on their tongue. Tazuna and Inari started gobbling up their plate with everyone else close behind. Kakashi, on the hand, had finished his meal in a blink of an eye to keep others from peeking behind his mask though he admitted to himself that the food was delicious and should be savored far longer.

”Wow, Tsunami-san. This is absolutely amazing!” Sakura exclaimed as she happily took another bite of her meal. Sasuke grunted in agreement next to her.

Tsunami gave out a small laugh and shook her head. “Sorry, Sakura-chan, but I’m not the one who cooked. But I must agree, the omelette is the best I ever had.”

The pinkette gave out a noise of confusion. “Then, who cooked breakfast?”

The older woman smiled and gestured towards the girl’s blonde teammate who was slowly enjoying his food. “Why, Naruto-kun, of course.”

”What?!” Sakura screeched, looking at the ‘deadlast’ in utter disbelief. Sasuke had a similar expression on his face though not as dramatic as his most obnoxious fangirl. Kakashi looked at his cute little student in pleasant surprise before eye-smiling and ruffling the boy’s hair in thanks. When he did this, Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

”Wow, kid. You have some amazing cooking skills. If your other dishes taste like this, you can make my meals any day, and I won’t complain.” Tazuna complimented from his seat at the table, holding up a glass of water as a toast to the chef.

”Yeah, Naruto-nii-san.” Inari said, agreeing with his grandfather and surprising everyone in the room with the affectionate title.

The blonde grinned happily. “Thanks, guys.”

After that, breakfast continued on in silence though Sasuke and Sakura kept glancing at their sunny-haired comrade when they thought no one was looking. Naruto noticed this, however, but paid no mind as he finished up his food. When everyone was done eating, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki made a shadow clone to help Tsunami clean up the kitchen and table as everyone else got ready to go out.

When the three genin and their jounin-sensei stepped out of the bridge builder’s home, Naruto did the summoning jutsu, and a three-tailed kitsune appeared before him. The fox was yellow with orange tips on its paws, tails, and ears, a height of 10 inches, and peach-colored orbs. Her name was Natsu, and she’s an all-rounder with many skills in different departments. A jack of all trades if you will.

She bowed to her summoner. “Hello, Naruto.”

”Hey, Natsu.” The blonde smiled as he crouched down to pet the small vulpine. Natsu licked his hand in response with happily swishing tails, pleased with the gesture. This particular kitsune was more graceful and polite in personality than her kin, but she does have her moments of mischief.

”Anything you need from me?” She asked him when he got up from his crouching position.

”Yes, I would like you to guard my client,” He pointed a thumb towards the bespectacled man next to him that was gaping at the three-tails, “while he works on the bridge. I will be in the forest training with my team.”

The small kitsune nodded and walked off with the bridge builder once the man got over his shock. Naruto turned back to his team members and saw that the genin had a look of incredulity and slight wariness. Kakashi just looked unflappable as always, but the chibi Rokudaime could see that there was curiosity brimming in the one stormy eye.

”Dobe, that fox had three tails.” Sasuke said with a disbelieving tone in his voice.

Naruto raised an eyebrow before he linked his hands behind his head. “Yes, and?”

”Naruto, it had THREE tails.” Sakura called out, looking at the blonde as if he was the stupid one of the group.

”Uh, I think we already established the obvious. Anyways, sensei, what are we going to be learning today?” The blue-eyed jinchuuriki turned to his team leader, completely disregarding the other two genin and their apparent concern.

The silver-haired nin tilted his head and stared at his blonde-haired student for a moment before turning around to walk away, gesturing his team to follow him. They moved further into the forestry before they came across a small clearing. Naruto recognized the place as the one where they practice tree climbing in the original timeline.

Kakashi stopped from where he stood and turned around to address his students. “We will now begin our training, but first, can someone tell me what chakra is?”

The pink-haired kunoichi raised her hand. The masked jounin prompted her to explain. “Yes, Sakura?”

”Um, chakra is the energy that a ninja needs to perform a jutsu. It is made of both physical and spiritual energy. The physical energy is gathered from each and every cell in the body, and the spiritual energy is accumulated from training and experience. A jutsu requires these two energies in order to be executed. When combining these two energies from within the body, you’re combining chakra. Chakra is activated by forming hand signs.” Sakura explained, informing everyone what she knew about chakra from learning and reading about it in the academy.

Kakashi nodded. “That’s right. We are all able to use jutsu, but you guys may not have been using chakra efficiently.”

”What do you mean, sensei?” Sakura asked, frowning in confusion. Sasuke was a silent presence next to her though he was wondering what their team leader was going with this, talking about chakra. Naruto was just in the background with his hands in his pockets, paying half a mind to the lesson while he observed his surroundings.

”As Sakura has explained earlier, combining chakra means picking up both the physical and spiritual energies and mixing them together within the body. You must take into account the amount of each energy, the preparation of the energy, and the changes in chakra based on the jutsu you want to activate. Derived from what I told you just now, I can say with absolute certainty that you’re not using chakra efficiently. Even if you’re able to combine a lot of chakra, if you’re not controlling and balancing it, the effectiveness of the jutsu will be cut in half or not even be activated at all. Wasting energy will prevent you from fighting for long periods of time. These are some of the weaknesses that can occur.”

Sasuke and Sakura listened attentively while Naruto went to a nearby tree and sat down in front of it. He crossed his legs and leaned back against the rough bark. Kakashi paid no mind and continued on with his lecture.

”You need to learn to control the chakra within your body. It’s difficult training that requires you to put your life on the line to master.”

”So, what is it that we’re going to do?” The pinkette asked with a somewhat worried tone in her voice.

Their sensei hummed and walked up to a tree. He placed a hand on it. “Tree climbing.”

”Ehhhh?!” The two genin looked at him incredulously while the blonde looked on indifferently from his place on the ground.

”But sensei, how is that supposed to help us? We already know how to climb trees.” The Haruno girl stated with hands on her hips. Sasuke ‘hn’ed in agreement.

”Ah, but do you know how to climb trees without using your hands?” The silver-haired nin asked. When he saw the Uchiha and the pinkette gave a look that clearly said no, he turned back towards the tree he chose specifically for the exercise. “Here, let me show you.”

The masked jounin placed a foot onto the bark before he began walking up the trunk using only his feet. Sakura and Sasuke looked at their sensei in amazement when they watched him walk perpendicular to the tall structure. When the copy-nin reached a high branch, he looked at his students upside down from the protruding limb of the tree.

”Focus the chakra to the soles of your feet and make them stick to the bark. If you use your chakra well, you can do things like this.”

”Wait a minute. How does this make you strong?” Sakura called out from her place on the ground.

The silver-haired shinobi looked at her boredly. “The aim of this training is to accumulate the required amount of combined chakra to the required portion of the body. This is surprisingly difficult even for expert ninja. The amount of chakra used for tree-climbing is very subtle, and the bottoms of the feet are the most difficult place to gather chakra. If you master the control, you can virtually master any jutsu. Another thing is to maintain the combined chakra. Ninja combine the most chakra during battles. Under such circumstances, control and maintenance becomes difficult. Anyways, you need to learn this exercise with your bodies.”

The sharingan user whipped out only two sets of kunai and threw them in front of the raven and pink-haired kunoichi. “Use the kunai to mark your progress. Get started.”

”Wait, why doesn’t Naruto get a kunai?” Sakura asked, pointing at her blonde-haired teammate who was sitting against a nearby tree.

Naruto sighed. “I already know how to tree-climb, Sakura. It was evident that I know how to control my chakra and use it efficiently. Didn’t you already see me walk on water the day before?”

Sakura thought back and realized that yesterday, Naruto was able to stand on top of water with ease when he saved Kakashi-sensei from being cleaved in half. That must have been the next step after the tree climbing exercise.

“Oh.” She replied lamely.

Kakashi cleared his throat. “Anyways, you guys should get going. Start by running up the tree to get started with the exercise.”

With that said, the two genin grabbed their kunai and began balancing their chakra and maintaining it while training. The silver-haired jounin jumped down from his perch and went to sit next to the sunny blonde. The older man took out his Icha Icha book from his weapons pouch and turned to the page that he bookmarked the night before. Naruto didn’t bat an eyelash as he continued to observe his teammates attempting the chakra control exercise.

”So, how did you learn to tree-climb and water-walk?” Kakashi asked nonchalantly, his eye not once leaving the page of his smut.

The jinchuuriki hummed as he thought about how to answer the seemingly innocent question. He knew that his sensei would eventually ask how he required some of his skills as it didn’t match what was written in his file. Well, Jiraiya always said the best lies were written with half-truths, so he could use that to his advantage to embellish the facts. “I saw a jounin doing the tree climbing and water walking exercise in the training grounds one day, and being the curious creature I am, I went to the library to figure out what they were doing. When I read about it, I decided to try my hand in it as I knew my reserves were larger than most and would be harder to control. I also had someone to help me with it. They taught me a lot of things over the years, but I hid what I knew from the villagers to not gain unnecessary attention or backlash.”

Kakashi peeked over his novel and watched his student with a curious eye. “Oh? And who taught you?”

Naruto gave an enigmatic smile. “The same person who presented me with the fox contract.”

The copy-nin raised a silver eyebrow, silently prompting his student to explain, but the blonde only grinned in response before turning back to his teammates. The older nin sighed, knowing he won’t get any direct answers from his most interesting student. “Is that person at least trustworthy?”

Naruto smiled fondly with a soft expression on his face as he thought of Kurama. “Oh, yes, definitely. And don’t worry, Jiji knows about him, so he’s not someone that would give off suspicion, dishonesty, or ulterior motives.”

The ex-ANBU captain nodded, relief flooding through him somewhat. If Hokage-sama knows about this person and trusts them enough to be near the jinchuuriki, then they must have been worthy of reliance. The Sandaime, after all, cared for the Minato-sensei’s legacy as if he were his own grandson and would probably lynch anyone who would cause harm to the metaphorical ball of sunshine. He was that protective of him despite his duty to the villagers. Whenever someone would treat the Kyuubi jinchuuriki unkindly, the elder man would have this hardened look in his eyes and anger would roll off of him in waves. People practically walked around him in eggshells whenever it came to the Uzumaki. Danzo, in particular, would be subjected to the man’s fury every time the one-eyed warhawk talked about turning the blonde into a weapon or be put under his care as an emotionless tool.

The 26 year old shinobi was glad that someone was willing to teach the boy something useful and the ways of shinobi, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious about who this person was. When he was on the boy’s guard detail, there was not one person who approached the jinchuuriki without any hate or malice or gave him any semblance of respect. Even when he was demoted from his position in ANBU, he never heard of someone who would teach the boy anything of use from his fellow ninja besides Iruka-sensei, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t him who taught him these things as he had other students to take care of at the academy. This meant that this particular individual went under everyone’s radar and taught the jinchuuriki without anyone noticing. This distinct fact did not bode well for the resident copycat ninja.

He made a mental note to talk to the Sandaime about it when they get back to Konoha after their mission. He admitted silently to himself that he cared about his cute little genin and was worried for his blonde student despite the short amount of time he had him under his care. He didn’t want anything to happen to him. Somehow, the sunny boy made his way into his heart despite the fact that the copy-nin kept everyone at a distance. It was a bit scary, but he couldn’t bring himself to care much. He knew it in his mind and body that he could trust the boy, and Naruto would never betray or hurt anyone he came to care for or spent time with at least not intentionally. The twelve year old had a heart of gold, and his kindness, determination, and pure soul could capture anyone, filling them with warmth. If only his teammates and the villagers could see that without any bias.

”Hey, I did it!”

Kakashi was snapped out of musings, and he looked up to see Sakura at the top of the tree, grinning down at them. It was kind of expected that the pink-haired kunoichi would get it on the first try since her reserves were small. He put down his book and eye-smiled at her. “Good job, Sakura. Now, continue to walk up and down the tree using your chakra. You need to build up your reserves and to truly master tree climbing, you must do it at an unconscious level.”

Sakura pouted and turned towards her crush. “Sasuke-kun, do you need any help?”

Sasuke ignored her and glared at the tree he was currently using for the chakra control exercise. He only got to a few feet before he either slipped or got blown off from the trunk. “Tch.” He ran up the bark of the tree and got only a few centimeters from his last mark before he lost control, using the kunai to make a slash against the rough surface. He continued to get frustrated as the minutes dragged on.

The pink-haired Haruno deflated when she was ignored by her beloved Uchiha, but continued on with her training. Naruto watched all of this with keen eyes, mentally shaking his head at their behavior. Maybe he should give them a push towards success.

With that thought in mind, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki stood up from the ground, brushing off the dirt from his pants and walked towards his two teammates. He stood between the two respective trees that were being used for the chakra control exercise before facing the raven-haired avenger. Sasuke looked over at him and scoffed. "What do you want, Dobe?”

”You’re not going to be able to go up the tree like that, Sasuke.” Naruto said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked at the Uchiha with a blank expression on his face. His sapphire eyes glinted in the sunlight.

Sasuke scowled at him. “What do you mean?”

”Calm your mind and emotions. When you get frustrated or upset, your control tends to slip. With an eased mind and heart, your control won’t waver, and your chakra would flow out smoothly. I could sense from across the clearing that your chakra fluctuates based off of your anger. If you relax a bit, you’ll be able to go up higher. Remember, too little chakra and you’ll slip. Too much and you’ll get blown off. If you need some assurance that you’re maintaining the same amount of chakra every time you go up, I suggest you lay down on the ground and plant your feet on the bark while applying chakra. Once you feel a suction, remember how that felt and use that as a base. Meditation also helps you with controlling and balancing your chakra.”

Sasuke became wide-eyed at the explanation, but turned to his tree with a thoughtful frown on his face. He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly to calm himself down. After a while, his tense shoulders relaxed and when he opened his eyes, he walked up to his aforementioned tree and placed a foot on the bark. He applied chakra to the soles of his foot, and when he felt a suction on the bark, he took note of the amount of chakra he utilized and used it as a reference. He applied the same amount to his other foot and soon, he walked up the trunk of the tree. He got a few more feet from his last progress before feeling his control slip. He marked the spot with a kunai before jumping down to the ground. He did a whole lot better than his last attempt. He turned to his teammate and gave him a nod of thanks before continuing his training, going further up.

Naruto smiled and turned towards his pink-haired comrade. She was walking up and down her tree, glancing over at them with a frown on her face every once in a while. The blonde reached out his senses and saw that the girl’s reserves were slowly getting larger. He walked up to her. “Hey, Sakura.”

The kunoichi eyed him for a bit before continuing her task. “Hi.”

The time traveler tilted his head as he regarded her. “You know, you have amazing chakra control. I think you’ll be an amazing medic-nin if that's something you’re interested in.”

She was startled from his comment and looked over at him in shock. “A medic-nin?”

”Yep.” The blonde nodded in affirmation, grinning up at her. “I could do medical jutsu, but it’s not something I particularly take a lot of interest in. I’m more into ninjutsu, fuuinjutsu, and kenjutsu. However, having a healer in the team would be beneficial, especially if that person could fight as well as they could do medical jutsu. Have you heard of Senju Tsunade?”

Sakura had a thoughtful look on her face as she searched through her memories. “She’s one of the Densetsu no Sannin, right?”

Naruto nodded. “Yes, she is. Just like you, her reserves aren’t that big, but her chakra control is amazing. She’s known as the best medical ninja in all of the Elemental Nations, but she also fights on the front-lines because of her incredible strength. I believe you could be just like her. Maybe even surpass her.”

Sakura looked at him in surprise, but she contemplated her teammate’s words. Becoming a medic-nin seems interesting to her, and Senju Tsunade is one of the most legendary kunoichi out there in the world. Becoming just like her surely would be a dream come true. Besides, a front-line fighter with medical knowledge that could heal people is something she could do given she has the time to train for it. She could become a valuable asset to her team and won't come off as useless. She knew in her heart that she was the weakest link in the group, and she wants to help out her team members any way she can. “That sounds nice, Naruto. I’ll surely look it up once we get back to Konoha.”

The blonde grinned happily. Perfect. “If you want, you could always come to me if you need anything. I have some books and scrolls that would help you in training to become a medic-nin as well as some things on Tsunade of the Sannin. I could also teach you the basics of medical jutsu and diagnostics if you’re interested.”

The pink-haired girl nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Thanks.”

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki saluted with a happy glow on his face and went back to where his sensei was sitting against the bark of a nearby tree. He went back to his place on the ground and sighed tiredly, ruffling his sunshine locks on his head. He unsealed the fuuinjutsu scroll he was reading earlier before his team left for their mission to the Land of Waves and started where he left off.

”That was nice of you to give them advice, Naruto. Having Sakura as our team’s medical ninja was a great idea and with her reserves and chakra control, she can really help us out.” Kakashi stated as he sat quietly next to him, turning to another page of his pervy book.

”Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. I just want to help them as I know they have the potential to become great if they work hard enough. If Sasuke wasn’t so obsessed with revenge and Sakura would get out of her fangirl phase, they could really become amazing shinobi of the Leaf.” Naruto said as he continued to look over his scroll.

The copy-nin hummed in agreement, and they rested in comfortable silence. A few hours had passed, and lunch came by as the afternoon sun shined down through the leaves and branches of the trees within the forest. Kakashi and Naruto were still perched on the ground while Sasuke was almost at the top of his heavily marked tree. Sakura had already gone to guard the bridge builder after an hour of walking up and down continuously. Thinking it was time for a break, the silver-haired nin snapped his book shut and stood up, putting his precious away. He placed his hands in his pockets and called out to his dark-haired student. “Sasuke, take a break. Let’s head back to the house and try to get something to eat for lunch.”

Sasuke jumped down to the ground and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. Naruto stood up from his position, stretching his limbs before putting away his fuuinjutsu scroll and notes. He unsealed a water bottle and threw it to the raven-haired Uchiha. His teammate grabbed it single-handedly, nodding in thanks as he took a drink. They began making their way back to the bridge builder’s home.

Nearing the house, the three shinobi saw Tazuna and Sakura walking towards them with the three-tailed kitsune trailing behind them. As they got close enough, Naruto greeted their client. “Hey, Tazuna-san. How was the bridge? Was there any trouble?”

The elder man rolled his shoulders to work off some kinks. “It’s getting there and no, there wasn’t thankfully.

The twelve year old nodded and crouched down to greet his summons. He petted the small fox and gently took her into his arms. Natsu rearranged herself to make herself more comfortable as she snuggled further within the blonde’s hold. The group headed inside and went into the kitchen to rest for a while. Tsunami and Inari were seated at the table, and they greeted the Konoha natives and the bridge builder when they saw the group enter through the doorway. The 29 year old mother got up to grab some snacks, gesturing to the new arrivals to take a seat at the table. Everyone sat down in the same spot as this morning.

Inari got up from his seat and carefully made his way over to the golden-haired shinobi who was cuddling with his summons. He smiled shyly. “Hi, Naruto-nii-san. Who is this you’re holding?”

The blonde grinned at him. “Hey, Inari. This is Natsu.”

Inari looked at the three-tailed kitsune who eyed him curiously. “Nice to meet you, Natsu.”

Natsu smiled up at him as her tails swayed from side to side in a hypnotic manner. “Likewise, Inari-kun.”

”Would you like to spend time with her?” Naruto asked the eight year old boy standing next to him who was still staring at the small kitsune with interest and fascination in his dark eyes.

Inari looked up in shock and slight anticipation. “R-really?”

The blonde genin chuckled and nodded. “Sure. Natsu can be very playful when she’s not on the clock. I’m sure she doesn’t mind hanging out with you outside. Just make sure to stay close to the house and come back if there is any trouble.”

The boy nodded emphatically, excitement coursing through him, and Naruto placed Natsu on the ground next to him. The fox shook herself off before she walked out of the house to spend time with the small child.

Tsunami came back with a plate of bread, cheese, and fruit and placed the assortment on the table in front of them. “Sorry. It’s not much, but it’ll keep you from being hungry in the meantime. I need to head into town to stock up on groceries.”

”Don’t worry about that, Tsunami. I could go grab the ingredients for you.” Tazuna said as he stood up from his seat, quickly finishing an apple that he grabbed from the plate in front of him.

”Thank you, Otou-san. Here is a list of things we need.” Tsunami handed over a piece of paper to her father, smiling in thanks.

”I’ll come with you.” Naruto stated as he also stood up from his seat.

Tazuna nodded and turned to the other occupants in the room. “Anyone else want to come and see the town?”

”Maa, I don’t mind coming with you guys.” Kakashi drawled, getting up to accompany his student and client to get groceries.

”I’m coming, too. I want to see the town.” Sakura declared from her place at the table. She turned to her crush. “Are you coming as well, Sasuke-kun?”

Sasuke looked up in thought after he took a bite of his bread. “Hn. I’ll stay here. I’m tired from training.”

The pink-haired kunoichi looked disappointed, but nonetheless followed the others outside. The group made their way into town, and what they saw there saddened them. Many of the townspeople were dressed in rags, and beggars were out trying to survive by asking for work, food, money, or clothing. A lot of them were children, and some ran hurriedly through the crowd after being called out for stealing.

When Naruto saw this, a lump filled his throat and his heart clenched painfully in his chest. He was reminded of the times when he was younger after he was kicked out of the orphanage. Just like these children, he had to survive out on the streets, looking for any scraps by digging through garbage or go out hunting in the nearby streams. He couldn’t ask for anyone’s help as he was often met with glares, threats, or abuse from the people of Konoha. Many times he was left starved, shelterless, bruised, bloody, and beaten. He was so very glad and thankful for Hokage-jiji and the people at Ichiraku’s for making his living more bearable.

A reassuring growl resonated in the back of his mind, and a feeling of warmth bloomed in his chest. Naruto smiled warmly at the Kyuubi’s attempt at comfort and affection when he was hit by one of his most depressing memories. The big ball of fluff was always looking out for him.

Within the seal, Kurama frowned at his kit’s pain and melancholic thoughts. He knew that his host was reminded of the village’s cruelty when he saw the state Nami no Kuni was left in when Gatou had taken over. Oh, how he wished he could get out, only to punish those who had caused so much hurt in the boy’s life. Humans can be such monsters, and they had the audacity to call him the demon. For now, he can only comfort the boy with his presence and the calming of his chakra.

The Konoha shinobi and their client walked into a grocery store after a few more minutes of traveling through the streets of the small island. Tazuna looked through the list in his hands as he wandered around the small shop, looking for the ingredients his daughter needed.

Naruto walked around the tiny establishment, moving further away from his team, and the whiskered teen grimaced when he saw that the shelves were barely even stocked. He clenched his hands in tight fists, almost drawing blood when he thought of how much the people of Wave had suffered because of the piece of shit who continued to profit and grow in power while terrorizing the villagers into submission. Gatou better hope for a clean and painless death because right now, he really wanted to tear him limb from limb. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki doesn’t take joy in killing, torture, or death, but the tyrant seems to be the exception to the rule. The blonde will surely be happy once that particular scum of the Earth never walked the Elemental Nations ever again.

Gentle fingers grasped his tightly balled fists and pried them open with care and a bit of tenderness. Naruto looked up in surprise and saw his sensei looking at him with concern and warmth, still holding onto his hands with his own.

Kakashi had felt the blonde’s inner turmoil from across the market and when he saw that the boy was drawing blood with his hands, he quickly went over to stop the teen from hurting himself even more. He took his student’s white-knuckled fists to gently pry his fingers apart from their tight hold. He internally sighed with relief when he saw the bloody crescents were already closing due to the Kyuubi’s healing factor. He continued to hold on as he watched his student look up at him from the unexpected gesture.

The copy-nin looked into the blonde’s beautiful blue pools, and saw every emotion that boy had been feeling and was dealing with alone. Pain, hurt, anger, frustration, grief. He squeezed the genin’s hands to show a bit of support and smiled down at him comfortingly, his mask crinkling from his upturned lips. “Are you alright?”

Naruto stared at him a moment longer before sighing. He looked down at their intertwined hands. “I’m just upset, is all.”

The silver-haired nin squeezed his hands reassuringly once more and hummed as he stepped closer to his genin. “Can you tell me why?”

The twelve year old blonde pursed his lips. “I just don’t like to see them suffering, Kakashi-sensei. Gatou took everything from them. When I see these people starving and poor, it just reminds me of…” He trailed off and closed his eyes to keep himself from falling apart in front of his most precious person. Even if he had lived for a little more than 20 years, the old wounds and scars from his past still left a mark on him. They still hurt, even if later on, he gained the acknowledgement and acceptance from his beloved village.

Kakashi looked at him with a pained expression. He knew what the boy was trying to say. The situation here was achingly similar to how the teen had lived when he was younger. Because of the bias and hatred of the Konoha civilians and ninja, Naruto spent most of his childhood starved, malnourished, homeless, and hurt. He didn’t make an easy living, and the older man was painfully reminded of his failures. If only he wasn’t so stuck in his own regrets, self-hatred, and grief, he could have done something to help his sensei’s son. Sure, he guarded the boy when he was in ANBU and kept the villagers from harming him when he was around, but it was evidently not enough. He could have done more. He should have been taking care of the blonde despite his status, age, and the words of the council as he was the Yondaime’s last remaining student. Well, now that he can let himself be closer to the sunny teen, he can be there for him and support him now. He won’t fail this. Naruto deserves everything and more.

The sharingan user took the whiskered blonde into his arms and hugged him despite being in the middle of a public space. He ran a hand through liquid golden locks and hummed. “It’s alright, Naruto. I get it. We’ll make sure the bridge gets finished, and Gatou would no longer be in power. When the timing is right, we’ll see to it that he’ll pay for what he has done to the people of Nami no Kuni.”

”Damn straight.” The genin muttered as hugged his sensei back, holding back a blush on his cheeks as he savored being in the comforting warmth of the object of his affections. The boy heard an amused chuckle in the back of his mind, and he internally flipped the demon off within the seal, only gaining more amused laughter from the nine-tailed kitsune.

”Gyaaaah! Pervert!”

The two shinobi quickly moved away from each other and looked over to where they heard a loud shriek from within the store. On the other side of the room, Sakura had punched a man unconscious, the perpetrator twitching madly on the floor of the shop. They rushed over to her.

”Sakura, what happened?” Naruto asked his fellow team member, looking down at the suspicious-looking male that was knocked out on the ground.

The pink-haired kunoichi pointed and glared at the unconscious individual. “This pervert went behind me and copped a feel. He touched my butt, so I punched him.”

The silver-haired sensei and blonde teenager blinked at her owlishly. Naruto was internally wincing. He knew how hard Sakura could hit with her fist. It was painful, and this was when she didn’t have Tsunade’s super strength.

”Okay…”

”Yo. You guys’ ready to get going? I got everything we need.” Tazuna popped up from behind them, almost startling the group of nins. He looked down to see the still twitching perp on the floor and raised an eyebrow. “What happened here?”

”Maa, nothing of importance. Let’s just go.” Kakashi said in a bored tone, rubbing the back of head with one hand while the other was shoved in his pockets.

The bridge builder looked at them with a bit of disbelief on his face, but nodded anyways. “Alright.”

They walked around the downed and spasming pervert and headed back to the house on the pier. The group strolled through the endless crowd as they ambled along the many streets of the village. The sun was beating down on them despite the sky turning dark as dusk approaches.

Naruto walked next to his sensei just behind Sakura and Tazuna who were locked in conversation. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his jacket, and he looked behind him to see a boy dressed in ragged and torn clothing and dirty sandals. The child looked to be around five years old, and his shoulder-length brown hair was wild and mussed. Dark smudges were placed on his cheeks and arms while there were bruises and scratches littered on his hands. Even though he was dirty and looking dead on his feet, the boy’s hazel eyes were alighted with warmth.

”Is there something you need?” The time traveler asked the smaller boy kindly as he crouched down to become eye-level with the other.

The child nodded and held up his hands. “Can you spare me some change or anything of use, mister?”

The golden-haired shinobi tilted his head in thought. He looked behind the smaller male to see the other street kids huddled in the corner, glancing at them and fidgeting as if also wanting to come over and ask for help, but was too afraid to do so. The whiskered blonde looked back at the kid in front of him and smiled, nodding. He lifted up his sleeve to unseal a scroll from his arm. He summoned out the items from the parchment, and a huge assortment of onigiri, nutrition bars, and candy appeared. He handed it over to the now gleeful child. “Here, take this and share with the others. It’s not much, but it’s something.”

The five year old grinned at him toothily, holding the items in his skinny arms as if they were precious treasure. He bowed deeply in gratitude. “Thank you so much, mister!” With that said, the kid ran off to the other kids in the street and started handing the items out. The children smiled happily as they got their share and waved at the blonde shyly in thanks when they looked over at him. Naruto grinned when he saw this and waved back before standing up from his crouching position.

”That’s a nice thing you did there, kid.” Tazuna spoke up from behind him.

”Has it always been like this?” Sakura asked meekly beside the elder.

Tazuna nodded with a hardened expression on his face. “Yes, it’s been like this ever since Gatou showed up. Here, the adults had turned into cowards. That’s why the bridge is necessary. It’s a symbol of courage and hope for the people in this land who set their minds on remaining passive. If we complete the bridge, this town will return to how it once was, and everyone will come back.”

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura watched their client as the bespectacled man had a look of determination on his weary face. They all had similar thoughts in their minds when it came to their mission and those who had suffered at the hands of a tyrant.

Get the bridge finished and help the people of Wave.

\---

The group finally got back to the house just as the sun reached the horizon. Inari was sitting near the front entrance as he was petting the small fox summon that was settled in his lap. The eight year old brightened up when he saw them coming from the dirt path. “Okaa-san! They’re back!”

Tsunami opened the front door when she heard her son calling from outside and smiled happily when she saw the group of four making their way towards the house. “Okaerinasai, minna.”

”Hey, Tsunami. We got everything we needed.” Tazuna called out, holding up a bag of groceries as he stepped into the humble abode. The Konoha shinobi followed suit with Inari and the three-tailed kitsune trailing behind them.

”Did you and Natsu had a good time?” Naruto asked the child in the green jumpsuit.

Inari nodded, smiling widely. “Yeah! We just got back from exploring the forest. We even went fishing in the nearby stream. Okaa-san said she will grill the fish we caught for dinner.”

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair, grinning down at him. “That’s great, kid. Do you mind if I return Natsu to her realm now? Her family must be wondering why she was out for so long.”

Inari looked disappointed, but nodded anyways. He didn’t want to keep the little fox from her home. “Yeah.” He perked up a bit as he looked up almost pleadingly. “Can I meet the others?”

The blonde genin smiled at him. “Sure, kid. You can meet more of my summons tomorrow.”

The smaller boy cheered before walking away to his room upstairs. Naruto shook his head in amusement before making his way into the kitchen where the others were situated. When he walked through the doorway, he saw Tsunami slaving away at the stove while Tazuna, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke sat at the table with the pinkette talking animatedly to the now suffering Uchiha. The blonde snickered at the annoyed raven before sitting next to his sensei who had his book out in front of him.

Tsunami looked over and smiled at the whiskered teen. “I have never seen Inari so happy before today. Not since my husband passed away. Thank you, Naruto. You brought back his smile.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed in embarrassment, his cheeks coloring at the praise. “You don’t have to thank me, Tsunami-san. I didn’t do much.”

”Nonsense, Naruto-kun. You helped us a lot.” The older woman said matter of factly as she continued to cook.

The evening dragged on and soon, everyone was asleep in their room for the night after dinner was eaten and cleaned up.

The chibi Rokudaime laid on his bed in the darkness of his shared space, the only source of light coming from the window as the moon shined down from the dark cloudless sky, speckled with only a few stars. He contemplated on what to do as he listened to his sensei breathe evenly next to him as the older man slept.

He knew he had to do something about Gatou. It has been a while, and he was pretty sure the smuggler had heard about Zabuza’s and Haku’s abandonment by now. Soon, the despicable man will try to do something to get the bridge builder off his back, and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki didn’t want to wait for another hired mercenary to try their hand in ending Tazuna’s life or hurting Tsunami and Inari in any way. Thinking about the situation at hand a bit more with some comments from his demon, Naruto decided that he will end Gatou’s reign tonight.

Making sure to not wake the copy-nin from his rest, the blonde kitsune silently got up and put on his gear without making any indication that he was awake and about to head out. Checking to see he had everything he needed, the time traveler walked over to the window and opened it soundlessly. He readied himself to jump down from two stories up when he heard a voice close behind him.

”Where do you think you’re going in the middle of the night, Naruto?”

Naruto froze from his perch on the windowsill before slowly turning around to see his sensei standing behind him with his arms crossed over his chest. The ex-ANBU captain stared at him wordlessly while he regarded his student that was sneaking out without informing anyone.

Internally, the blonde was panicking as he tried to find a way to explain why he was up and trying to leave without anyone knowing. Why the hell was he awake? He was pretty sure that Kakashi was asleep as it had been only a few hours since they settled for the night and the silver-haired man had laid down on his futon. He made sure the older nin was too deeply unconscious to notice him moving around, so how in the world was he up?

”Uhhh….” The jinchuuriki eloquently let out, inwardly wincing at his lack of better words. Kurama was howling in laughter at the awkward response.

Kakashi sighed and shuffled closer to his cute little genin, placing a hand on his blonde head. “Tell me what you’re about to do, Naruto.”

The whiskered teen looked away and bit his lip. A few moments of silence passed before the smaller male gave in. “I was about to head over to Gatou’s hideout.”

The hand on his head tensed before relaxing. The masked jounin hummed thoughtfully as he curiously eyed the younger shinobi. “Are you trying to eliminate the threat before it becomes a bigger problem?”

Naruto had a guilty expression on his face. He sheepishly smiled at the taller male. “Yes.”

”By yourself?” The 26 year old asked, raising a silver eyebrow as he regarded the genin dangling on the windowsill.

The blonde frowned. “I was going to use my shadow clones to help out.”

Kakashi dropped his hand before turning to look out the window. Naruto fidgeted from his spot when his team leader didn’t say a word for a long while. Was his sensei going to demand that he'd stay or did he think he couldn't do this on his own?

”What happens if you need to kill?” The sharingan user quietly uttered in the stillness of the night, effectively breaking the jinchuuriki's thought process.

A look of understanding fell over the time traveler’s features. It seemed Kakashi was only worried about him taking another person’s life and the repercussions. His sensei trusted his abilities, but this operation could result in him having his “first kill”. It was by far not his first time taking the life of another person, but the copy-nin didn’t know that. The blue-eyed teenager jumped to reassure the older man. “I would kill if I have to. I know it’s part of life as a shinobi, and we would need to kill for the betterment of the village or the need to survive. Even so, that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I will have to end someone’s life if I need to protect my precious people. If it means keeping those I care about safe, I will eliminate the threat if there is no other way.”

Kakashi turned to his student and looked at him for a while before smiling slightly, shaking his head in slight wonderment. "You're too mature for your own good."

Naruto inwardly snickered at the somewhat ironic statement. True, he did grow out of his childish antics, and the Fourth Shinobi War left him to become a bit more serious. However, his sensei didn't know that he was a loud, brash, and reckless knucklehead when he was an actual genin before the inevitable time travel. He smiled sadly at the memory of when he was a naive, innocent little kid who didn't know the realities of the world outside of Konoha. He didn't actually grow up until the training trip with Ero-sennin. It wasn't until the toad sage's death that he took to being a serious shinobi, so he couldn't lose more of his precious people.

"Yeah, I had to in order to survive." The blonde eventually answered softly to the other person in the room.

The silver-haired jounin's smile took on a melancholic note as he thought of that statement. Of course. Because of what he had gone through and his harsh childhood, Naruto had learned to grow up mentally in order to endure and protect himself from the cruel treatment he had been subjected with by the people of Konoha. Sad as it was, no matter how much the copy-nin wished it wasn't so.

Kakashi turned around, and put on his vest and sandals. He grabbed his gear and strapped in on. While he did this, the twelve year old jinchuuriki watched him bewildered.

"Uh, sensei?" Naruto tentatively called out. "What are you doing?"

After checking to make sure he has everything he needed, the masked nin turned around and eye-smiled at the confused teenager. "You didn't think I would let you go alone, did you Naruto? I'm hurt that you would think so lowly of your dear old sensei."

Naruto stared at him with wide eyes before snorting once the comment got through to him. The blonde grinned at the ex-ANBU captain. "Well, let's go then. See if you can keep up, old man." He teased him before jumping out of the window.

Kakashi shook his head in fond amusement before following the genin outside.

They had a smuggler to deal with.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed it. This is my first time writing fanfiction, so I apologize if my writing sucked. Feedback is welcome and if there are any errors in the story, please let me know. Until next time! 
> 
> -cyxnidelxced


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